


Codependent

by DearDead



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Kalex, Mentions of Torture & Experiments, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Pseudo-Incest, Romance, Slow Burn, Took a dark turn, not really incest if one is an alien, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-07-05 12:16:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 102,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15863436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DearDead/pseuds/DearDead
Summary: Alex and Kara spend all their time together, tell each other everything, and love each other more than anything. They're the closest sisters anyone ever saw. Maybe there's a reason for that.When Alex's plane goes down and Kara saves her, some unknown feelings come to the surface. Will they be brave enough to accept them and take a risk ? Or will they shove their feelings deep down to keep their relationship as it is ?





	1. To start

Kara and Alex weren’t always this close. There was a time when, if Kara was crying, Alex would pretend not to hear. When, if Kara was watching with longing the content of Alex’s plate, she would pretend not to see. The list goes on and on.  
But now, it's like they can’t even spend more than a day away from each other. Of course, they don’t have the same relationship that other sisters have. Or even foster sisters. They’ve been through a lot more than most people together. And not even from the time Kara became Supergirl, but as soon as she arrived at the Danvers’.  
Even if Alex was trying to pretend she didn’t exist most of the time, she was still there when Kara really needed her, most of the time to keep her powers or her birthplace hidden. She would swoop in like she was always in the same room and hide holes or bent metal when Kara was emotionally vulnerable and forgot her strength. Alex would quickly steer her away, or divert the conversation so no one would remember Kara saying something odd.  
It left Kara very confused by this ever changing behavior. Being on a new planet, and being thirteen, she didn’t understand a whole lot.

But Kara now understood. She understood she invaded Alex's home, stole her parents, isolated her at school because she had now a weird foster sister.  
Understanding everything made her just love Alex more. She didn't think it was possible, but she hadn't realised the bitterness she kept inside all those years. The bitterness plus the guilt didn't really help her get close to Alex at the beginning. But she got over that, and Alex got over her pride.  
So now they were closer than ever, not really realising it wasn't that common because it was so natural for them.  
It's not like they didn't realise they loved each other more than any other person in their life, it's just that they didn't care because they were there for each other, and that's all they ever needed. Eliza encouraged such behavior, telling Alex to always protect her sister like it was her only goal in life. She was much softer on Kara, but told her to listen to Alex and stay close to her. So that's what they did, happy to be together, and happy to make Eliza smile when they followed her instructions. 

They became really dependent on one another, but neither of them minded because they cared for each other so much. And because neither had a significant other or other people that could become more important. They knew that they were all that they needed, if they had to choose a person to spend the rest of their life with, they would choose each other. And  _somehow_ , that didn't hint they loved each other more than they thought.  
And when they talked, it was like they were one person, talking for the other, not going to the bar without the other.   
They didn't realise how much people started to notice how...  _odd_ it was for sisters behave like this.

People who knew who Kara was understood, to a certain point, because they knew she needed stability, and Alex was her rock from the moment she landed. Eliza was starting to see the truth, but kept lying to herself. And Kal-El was never here, so he wouldn't notice.  
However, people who didn't know who she was, found it weird, because, most of the time, they thought they were real sisters. And if they found out they weren't, they'd think they were dating.  
Of course, knowing them both, even briefly, people knew to keep their mouth shut and not ask questions. Because Kara was so nice and got flustered so easily, and because they somehow knew Alex would make them disappear.

So their relationship continued like this, until, of course, it didn't. It couldn't keep going like for ever, not with their feelings in the way, and their day to day life. And, you know, a near death experience from Alex and Kara revealing herself to save her sister.


	2. The talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I don't need a lot to keep writing. A few people liking it is all I need, so I'm going to try and continue the story  
> As usual, tell me if you like or don't like something, even if it has to do with my writing, grammar,... :)

Codependent. That's what she heard people say. Having super-hearing wasn't always a privilege. A burden more like it.

She knew her and Alex were close, but they weren't  _codependent_. Please. She did stuff by herself. And Alex too. For starters, they didn't work together.

Okay, not that she didn't try, but Alex was really vague about her job, and Kara didn't why. It's not like she couldn't keep up with her, being from an advanced species. She was smarter than Alex for Rao's sake. Technically. Everything here was just so...  _old_.  
Meaning it was really different from everything she learned on Krypton. If she would commit to it and actually read research papers and science books, then she would be on par with Alex, if not more. Easily. She even tried back in the day, so she could understand and talk with Alex about what she was passionate about. But she quickly realized that Alex was happy to teach Kara, to be useful.  
So Kara stopped trying to learn, and learned to listen and understand when Alex was talking with her. Alex had this glint in her eyes every time she talked about she loved, and it was rare enough that Kara did everything to see it as often as she could.

So yeah, she  _could_  work with Alex, but it was better  _for_  Alex if she didn't. So it wasn't like they spent all day together, they had jobs !  _Different_  jobs !  
_And_ , they didn't live together. Well, they each had their own apartment. They just often were in the same one at the same time. Not always. Most of the time. She didn't remember the last time she slept alone, but that doesn't prove anything ! They just had gotten used to sleeping together, because of her nightmares when she first came to live with the Danvers.  _Co-dependency_. Sure.

She didn't see why she had to change anything just because people were talking. They were comfortable with each other, knew each other inside and out... Why did she have to change her perfect life ?

Well. She did have to prove them wrong, because they  _were_  starting to get on her nerves. They didn't just talk amongst themselves now, they came to her. Well.  _He_. Winn. Her best friend. He got invited to their game nights, so he saw them together, in  _their_  home. Being as close as he was with Kara, he knew they weren't real sisters. 

 _One game night, when he was trying to figure out what to do not to lose, he looked up from the board game. He was sitting on a chair in front of the sisters sitting on the couch, with the table between. They were sitting next to each other, shoulders and thighs touching, and were talking in low voices while looking at each other in the eyes. He stopped for a moment, and really looked at them. They were looking at each other with such fondness, a soft smile on Kara's lips, and a smirk on Alex's._  
_As he came to the realisation, his heart sped up and Kara's head snapped in his direction. Alex's eyebrows raised, wondering what her sister heard, and her eyes followed her sister's. Winn looked at them with wide eyes, looking a little..._ scared  _?_  

_"You okay there, Winn ?" asked Kara, sounding surprised. Alex was looking at him with interest, an eyebrow still raised in a silent question._

_He looked down, fidgeting a little with the cards in his hands, like he was thinking about his next move. "Yeah, why ?  I-I didn't say anything" he answered nervously. Why was he nervous ? It wasn't like she could read his mind._

_Kara narrowed her eyes suspiciously, watching him for a couple of seconds before answering. "I don't know, it seemed like you had something on your mind. Never mind."_

_Alex looked at her sister, and decided to question her later, preferably not in front of the ignorant Winn. Who, by the way, was in love with Kara. Yeah, not a small crush. And she wasn't happy about for some reason. He was nice enough, but was he_ good _enough for her ? No one was, so no._

_Alex started their conversation again, even if she knew Kara was still a little distracted._ _  
_But the night ended well, Alex was proud of herself after destroying Winn at the game, and Winn left after saying goodbye with a lot on his mind.__

_After this night, he decided to talk to Kara. He tried to be subtle, but come on, he's Winn._

 

Kara and Alex were just fine this morning. They got up, got ready and went to Noonan's for a quick breakfast. They just had the time to drink their coffee inside, so they sat down to enjoy the little time they got. They were sitting across each other, and didn't even realized they were leaning forward while talking.   
_Of course_ , Winn walked pass Noonan's and looked inside like every morning, hoping to see Kara getting Cat's latte. So he saw Alex and Kara really close to each other, like they were alone in the coffee. He wanted to take his time and prepare a speech for Kara, but that sent him over the edge, and decided to talk to her as soon as possible.

He kept walking, a little irritated. And he knew why, he wasn't so dense as to miss the fact he was actually in love with the lovely, bubbly ever so kind blonde. So he had to do something about her and Alex. Not that he wanted to damage their relationship in any way, but he thought that if Kara kept going like this, in wasn't ever going to change. Be it her relationship with Alex, or with him. Either way, he had to just give a little push, or she was going to stay stuck.  
In love or not, he wanted what was best for her, and if this was Alex, so be it. But it would be nice if it was him. He hoped so. God, he really hope so.

So he waited for Kara to be available. Well, more like he waited for Cat Grant to stop screaming for/at her. And because he was Winn, he waited for Kara not to have this defeated face she usually had after an especially rough morning with Cat.  
He went to her desk and gave her a chocolate bar to try and cheer her up. She looked down at her desk where he put it, gave him a bright smile and started devouring the snack. He shook his head with a smile. It was the little things in life.

He was starting to hesitate to talk to her. Now that he thought about it, she seemed happy. And he was happy being alive. Because if she ever talked about their conversation with Alex, he wasn't sure he would see the sun again. Or anything, ever again. But he had to be brave, because even for him, they couldn't stay like that, in that grey area. They had to move, to a direction or another. Whatever the outcome, he would always be her best friends. But he was worried she wouldn't be his if she didn't take well what he had so say.

But no pain, no gain, right ? He took a deep breath, turned in his chair to face Kara.

"Psst !"

Kara looked up from the tablet where she was frantically typing, her eyebrows up. "What is it Winn ?"

He got really nervous all of the sudden, but moved through the fear. "Could we talk ? Like, I mean, when you're free of course. It-it doesn't have to be right now, you know. But just, when you can ? Maybe ?"

She frowned a little, really curious about his reaction and what he wanted to talk about. So of course, being the little awkward alien that she was, she got a little nervous too. "Yeah, yeah, of course. I just have to finish some emails for Miss Grant, then I can take a little break. That okay ?"

He smiled because she was always there for him, even when he couldn't talk like a normal person and stressed her out too. "Sure, perfect. Thanks !" He gave an awkward thumbs-up and got back to work. Or pretended to, as he had nothing to do. He decided to update his blog. You know, about aliens.

Ten minutes later, Kara stood up and went over to his desk. 

She patted him on he shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, I'm free for a bit, you wanted to talk ?"

He jumped a little, surprised, and looked up to see big blue eyes watching him nervously. He wanted to smile and reassure her it wasn't a big deal, but he didn't want to lie. So he just gave a little nod with a smile, and stood up as well. "Yeah, can we go somewhere a little more... Private ?"

She got even more nervous and nodded. "S-sure."

She followed him to an empty hallway, and stopped when he did.

They were both fidgeting, as you do, Kara waiting for him to speak, and Winn trying to get his thoughts in order.

With no more patience to give, Kara began to ask, "So, what did you wa-" before getting cut off.

"I wanted to know if you were seeing anyone" he blurted out suddenly.

Kara, so surprised, just asked dumbly, "What ? Who ?"

He released a little shaky chuckle with his head a bit down, and looked up to keep going. He could do this.

"I was wondering if you were seeing someone." As he said it, he could see Kara understanding where he was going with this, and decided to change course. "You know, because you're either with me, and the rest of the time you're with Alex. So I wondered if you had like, a b- boyfriend or something.  _Or_  a girlfriend, either or." Seeing Kara's dumbfounded expression, he kept talking.  
Yet another mistake. "I- I meant, you know, like, we don't see each other often outside of work, and you only talk about Alex. B- but maybe, just another friend ? Friends ?" He couldn't stop now, the nervousness getting the control. "Not tha- that's it's bad if you don't, I mean I know a lot of foster siblings, and some of them also became codependent, and- and, I mean it's okay, you just-" and he  _finally_  stopped talking. Kara was red as a tomato, and was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Winn !" she hissed. She looked around to check they weren't alone, because she wasn't going to try and trust her super-hearing when she was this agitated. "I'm not- we're not- I mean, I don't understand what you're saying !" she whispered-shouted, too shocked to really whisper. "We're not  _codependent_ , come on ! I mean, we're close, but you know why ! I had to lean on  _someone_ , and it just has always been Alex, but, well, you know, I do stuff without her !"

Winn was really starting to regret approaching the subject, but it was too late. "Kara...." He took a deep breath before looking at her with kind eyes. "When was the last time you went out without her ? And I mean, with other people, not just alone on a-a walk or something. Because I  _know_  you go out when you're hungry, and, I mean, I'm not saying it's  _all_  the time..." He grinned to let her know he was jocking, to relax her a little.

She looked at him for a few seconds, trying to answer, but she just looked like a fish opening and closing her mouth, trying to find what to say. "W-Well... I mean, I choose not to, but I can totally do that !" she said a little too loud, turning the heads of a few colleagues passing by. She cleared her throat, closed her eyes for a second to try and relax her shoulders, and tried again. "It's true I don't go out a lot without her, and maybe I should, you know. So, I'll try to go on a date. There."

He  _really_  didn't expect that. "A-a d-date ?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm  _not_  seeing anyone, and Alex has to go to a convention tonight. I mean--, it hasn't anything to do with her not being there ! It's just, you know, g-good timing. So, there. I'm going out tonight. Not alone,  _and_ " she added looking right in the eyes, " _without_  Alex. No biggie. I can have multiple friends. I can do this." she added the last part barely above a whisper, mostly to herself.

She  _could_  do this. She just had to want it. But now, she told Winn she was going to. So she had to. Well. Now, she had to find a date.

She was already in her own world, trying to figure out how to get a date for the same night, while trying to sort out her feelings. She had a lot to do.  
She turned around to go back to her desk, forgetting about Winn and the fact that she didn't take her break.

Winn stayed where he was, mouth agape, staring where Kara was just a second ago.  
It didn't go how he thought it would. A date ? A  _date_  ? How did he manage to get Kara out of her comfort zone and go on a date... With neither him  _or_  Alex ?

He messed up. Big time. He wasn't happy about it, but he knew someone who would be even less happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, I couldn't wait so I decided to write a chapter after the first comment I got haha
> 
> I know, Alex isn't really here yet, but patience. She'll be there next chapter !
> 
> Also, I'm not sure but I think maybe I made a mess ? I mean about the POV, did I change from Kara to Winn to Kara again ? Was it bad ? I don't think you're supposed to do it, but I don't know... Thoughts ?


	3. The date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who commented and left kudos. I leave comments and kudos when I read something I like because I know the writer appreciate it, but I didn't know it would make me so happy ! You motivate me to keep writing - which I like more than I thought I would- so thanks !
> 
> Alex is FINALLY going to be in this chapter, so yay !  
> But just at the end, sorry, I didn't think I'd write so much building up to the plane scene... So this chapter is the date, and the next will be starting from the plane. But after that, it's going to have so much Kara/Alex scenes you won't know what to do ! So.. Yay ?  
> But don't worry, I plan to post mutlipe chapters per week :)

Once she got back to her desk, she tried to focus on the emails she was supposed to answer to for Miss Grant. But her mind kept replaying the conversation with Winn, making her doubt. Was she codependent ? She always got the impression of needing Alex more than Alex needing her, so maybe... No. She was a little dependent on Alex, but codependency was a big word. The kind of word that got you into therapy.

And okay, maybe she wanted to go to therapy to deal with all her past trauma, and some present feelings she had from being an alien in a world full of humans. But precisely, she couldn't, because she was an alien in a world full of humans. She couldn't talk about her planet, because she was supposed to be born on  _this_  planet. So she was stuck. But she was lucky she had Kal-El (sometimes), and Eliza. And  _Alex_. Alex was her everything, she knew the real Kara, not just the happy, bubbly kind blonde.

She also knew her screaming at night, while she saw her planet exploding in front of her. She knew her crying because she forgot her strength and broke something. She knew her sitting alone in the dark on her couch, because she felt isolated from everyone, even though she was surrounded by people who liked her. She knew at her best, and at her worst. And she loved every side of her.

As Kara loved every side of Alex. The big nerd, talking about science. The very sleepy Alex, who barely closed the door before letting herself fall face first on the bed before falling asleep immediately. (Somehow, Alex was so very tired often since she got her new job at the lab). The Alex that drank too much during a rough week, or around the day of her father's death. But also the Alex who stopped drinking when Kara asked her to, even if all she wanted to do was forget for a while.

Alex was always there for Kara, like Kara would always be there for Alex. No matter what.

So really, no need for therapy when you had the best friend, confidant, sister in the whole world. Universe even.  
But she also wanted to show she could be on her own. Just because she didn't want to didn't mean she couldn't. 

She started typing a text to Alex, asking her for advice on how to get a date for tonight, when she realized... She couldn't. That was the whole point !  _Shoot_  ! She had to do this by herself. Sure she could. She could find someone to go out with tonight. And if she couldn't, she would just go to a bar and meet people there. People liked her. 

She looked up to see Winn making his way to his desk, looking a little lost in his thoughts, and she got an idea. She got up and went to him, standing between him and his chair.

"Hey, so I thought about what you said, a-and like I said, I'd like to go out with someone tonight. So I was wondering..." He looked at her, full of hope, his heart starting to beat really fast. "If you knew someone you could set me up with ?"

His face fell instantly, not knowing he could feel so much disappointment in so little time.

"Do you- I mean, I'm free, if-if you want ?" he stammered.

She gave him a big smile, loving him for offering. "Winn, that's so nice ! But you said I only went out with you or Alex, and I should meet people." Okay, that wasn't exactly what he said. "So I have to meet new people. But if you want, we'll go to lunch tomorrow."

She looked at him, expecting an answer, but he was just staring at her, looking a little sad. "Winn ?"

He looked like he got out of his stupor. "Y-yeah ?"

She chuckled, shaking her head a little at his friend's antics. "Do you know anyone who would want to go out tonight ?"

"Oh ! Hum, no sorry, I actually don't have that many friends... And, well, most of them are from around the world. You know, on-online games." He squished his eyes shut, not believing he just said that. "And the others are already with someone. Well, actually," he started to ramble because it sounded like a fake excuse (which it was not, he wouldn't do that to Kara) "one of my friends is single, but he's not really into women. N-not that he doesn't like them ! You-they're very lo-likeable" he laughed nervously, not knowing how to stop talking now. "He just-"

And Kara laughed loudly, her head thrown backwards, cutting him off. "I get it Winn, it's okay. He prefers men, it's simple, that's fine." She laughed a bit more, and said before returning to her desk, "I'll just have to figure out another way, don't worry. Thanks anyway !" She flashed him a smile before leaving.

Winn stood there for a few more seconds, feeling flustered, and quickly sat down, taking deep breath to calm down. He hesitated a bit, and turned around "Hey, Kara." He waited to have her attention before suggesting "you could look online. You know, dating sites. I'm sure you'll find someone nice and available for tonight. It's a big city after all." He didn't even stammer, probably because he was accepting the fact that she won't ever be interested in him. Not with her reaction after their conversation.

She smiled brightly, surprised. "Thank you Winn, that's a great idea ! I'll go and sign up on s--"

She didn't have the time to finish her sentence before Cat Grant cut her off. "KIERA ! My office, NOW !"

She winced because of the loud voice, and she was sure than even without super-hearing, people would still have their eardrums damaged. She didn't know why she yelled even though she could see Kara at her desk. She took a deep breath as she stoop up, and made her way to her boss' desk.

"Yes Miss Grant ?"

"Kiera, I know you and the Hobbit are friends--" she began.

"Wha- Hobbit ?"  _Winn_   _?_

She kept talking like Kara didn't even talk, "But if you could take your crush somewhere else, I would appreciate it. I don't like office romance, even though it's allowed." A pause. "Unfortunately." she added, muttering.

Kara looked at her boss with big eyes, looking lost. "Office ro--" And it clicked. She suddenly became red from her neck up. "Miss grant !" she squealed a little too high. "We are not...  _Involved_  ! He's my friend, my  _best_  friend, but I don't see him that way, and he-he doesn't either." 

She looked like she was going to implode, so Cat took pity on her. "Fine. If it's not romance, I would still like for you to stop talking to him every five minutes, and actually do your job. I don't pay your miserable salary for you to gush around like school girls."

"Y-yes Miss Grant, I'm very sorry, it won't happen again," she said shakily. "Would that be all Miss Grant ?"

Cat was already back to work, looking at some papers in her hands. She waved her hand, a clear movement of dismissal, without saying anything. Kara got the message, and quickly returned to her desk, frustrated. Office  _romance_. What was with everyone today ? Couldn't she have a little peace ?

With a big sigh, she sent a few emails before looking at a few dating sites before settling for the more serious looking. It didn't really look like something she'd do, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She signed up, and found a few men she could be interested in. She messaged one, and decided to wait a bit.

Half an hour later, she got a notification from the dating site, and saw that the man answered her. They chatted for a few minutes, before she asked him if he'd be available for a casual date tonight. She was pleasantly surprised when he affirmed he was. She felt a wave of accomplishment growing inside of her, because she just got a date, on her own. It was quickly replaced by an emptiness she didn't understand. Surely she should be happy.  
But she would normally mope around when her sister wasn't there, and now she had to go get dressed up and meet someone she didn't know. For all she knew, he could be a serial killer ! Not that he stood a chance against her, but still.

So she had a date at 7 in a local bar. When she suggested a  _casual_  date, she didn't really mean  _this_  casual. Oh well. Maybe she'd have to cut the evening short, who knows...

The afternoon passed in a blur as Kara worked her butt off and simultaneously mentally prepared herself for her date. Before she knew it, it was 6, but couldn't leave before because of Cat.

"Miss Grant ?" she tentatively asked, walking timidly through her boss' office.

Cat didn't look up from her computer, just hummed to say she heard her.

"I actually have plans tonight, and I was wondering if I-I could leave on time ?" Receiving a glare from anyone is never pleasant, but one from Cat Grant is terrifying. "I mean, could I leave a little... early ? Maybe ?"

Cat continued to glare at her for a few seconds, enjoying seeing her squirm, and finally said "Fine, go do what millennials do on Wednesdays nights, you're free for the evening Kiera."

Surprised, a big smile made its way to Kara's face and rocked a little on her heels to keep herself from accidentally flying. It happened once or twice...

"Thank you Miss Grant ! Do you need anything before I leave ?"

"No Kiera, just go. I'll see you first thing tomorrow, we need to discuss the future of the Tribune," she said in a weary tone.

"Of course Miss Grant, have a good evening."

She quickly collected her things, a little worried Cat would change her mind, and made her way to the elevator. She still had to take the bus to her apartment and find something to wear. She would be home by 6:20, so she'd have to use her super-speed to get ready. Thank Rao for  _that_  super power.   
Once she got out of the elevator, she texted Alex. " _Need your help ASAP, meet me at my place, won’t take long promise. Love you_." She needed her sister to reassure her before her date, to calm her nerves.

Frustrated at having to take the bus, she sat down near a window when her phone vibrated. " _The things I do for you. I'll be there around 6:30, hope it's not one of your surprises again. I'm warning you Kar, I'm armed."_  Armed ? Just because she tried to surprise her sister once and had thrown some confetti, not  _at_  her per say, but in her general direction, and Alex had jumped back, back to the wall in the hallway,  _didn't_  mean she had to come armed now.  _Armed_. She didn't even know  _how_  to use a gun,  _please_.  
She quickly typed a response before putting her phone in her bag. " _Sure Jan. It'd totally harm me. Just please help me choose some clothes, I have a date tonight and I'm a little nervous. You'll be on time for your plane."_

Arriving near her bus stop, she stoop up and waited for the bus to stop. She got out and walked the few meters to her apartment while checking her phone.  _Weird, Alex didn't answer_. She always answer, except if she's in the lab. Maybe she was driving and couldn't answer.  
She made her way up to her apartment at exactly 6:25 and saw her sister nursing a drink between her hands, looking out of the window.

She was surprised to see her like this, she didn't even hear Kara come in. She quietly closed the door and walked up to her sister.

"Alex ?" she whispered.

Alex jumped a little and turned quickly around to see her sister watching her worriedly.

"Hey Kar, I didn't hear you come in," she said while giving her sister a one-armed hug.

Kara squeezed Alex a little more before letting go to look at her face. "Yeah, I can see that. You okay ?"

"Yeah yeah, I was just lost in thoughts" she answered with a little smile. That didn't fool Kara.

"Okay... You know you can talk to me Al, about anything. Right ?" 

She looked at Alex with so much hope and sincerity in her eyes that she couldn't lie. Plus, When Kara called her "Al", she couldn't say no to her. "Yeah I know. It's nothing." She sighed. "It's stupid. I was just surprised because you didn't tell me you had a date tonight before the last minute. And I thought... You wanted to keep it a secret for some reason, and only told me because you wanted me to help you choose what to wear." She looked down during all her speech, feeling insecure. She also felt jealous, but she didn't want to seem too clingy, her sister could have a life outside of her of course. It was healthy. She had to let go.

"Oh ! No no, Winn just- he said- well-" she  _couldn't_  tell Alex what Winn told her ! Nope, no way. "Well, we were talking, you know, at work," Alex was watching her with a amused expression, "and he asked if I was seeing anyone." At  _that_  comment, Alex didn't look amused anymore. She had a dark expression on her face, not liking where this was going.

"Winn asked you out ?" she asked a little too coldly.

Kara's eyebrows shot up, then she frowned. "Winn ?  _No_ , of course not ! He just asked, because-because well, he was curious I guess, or whatever," she muttered the last bit. She was still frustrated with her best friend, but she knew he asked because he was worried about her. "Well, and when I said no, he suggested that I should, you know, so I-I... I kind of..."

Alex wasn't convinced about the Winn part, but Kara seemed flustered and mumbled the end of her phrase. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch the end there," she said with a smirk.

Kara took a deep breath, feeling her cheeks becoming red. "I  _said_ , I kind of si-signed up for a dating site, and that's how I got the date.  _Anyway_ , it happened like after lunch, so I didn't really tell you last minute, I just had a lot of work to do, and I didn't want to bother you at work and decided I could do this myself, because I tend to dep-not  _depend_ ," she chuckled nervously, "but I often ask you for advice and wanted to leave you alone today, to not stress you out, because you have that conference thingy, and-"

She suddenly felt hands on her shoulders, and snapped out of her rambling to see Alex watching her and trying not to laugh. "Kar, it's okay, breathe." She waited until Kara took three deep breaths before she dropped her hands from Kara's shoulders. "It's okay, it was stupid of me to feel insecure like that. You have a right to have a life where I'm not always involved in everything you do." Just when Kara wanted to say she  _did_  want Alex involved at all times, Alex continued. "And it's  _okay_  Kara, it's healthy. You need to meet people, and have friends outside of me. I don't have to always be there you know. I just want you to be happy."

She looked at her with such love in her eyes that Kara felt herself tear up a little. She didn't know if it was because Alex cared so much for her, or because Alex thought Kara didn't want her always with her. Alex smiled tenderly before shaking her head, chuckling shakily, and declared "Come on, I need to help you so I can go catch my plane. Important convention and all that. Science stuff," she added with a smirk. She didn't like lying to Kara, but it was better than having her in danger.

She turned around to go to the bedroom when she heard Kara whisper  _"nerd"_  behind her. 

"You know, I don't have super-hearing like some annoying aliens, but I'm not deaf either."

Kara passed in front of her with super-speed, and smirked at her. "I know," she teased.

They both relaxed, their banter familiar.  
After going through a few clothes, Alex hold up two shirts, a red and a blue one. "Choose one, and let me go catch my flight. The work day isn't over for some of us," she said smiling.

Kara hesitated before pointing to the red one in question. Alex put back the red shirt with the other clothes, and handed over the blue one to Kara. "Good choice. When in doubt, always choose blue. It's your color, it brings out your eyes," she said, looking fondly into Kara's eyes.

Kara felt her cheeks heat up for some reason, and became embarrassed by the compliment. "O-Okay, yeah, blue. Sure." She chuckled nervously and turned around to hide her red cheeks.

Alex rolled her eyes, not believing a being this perfect still wasn't used to compliments, even little ones. "Okay, now that that's done, I'm gonna go, okay ?"

After getting herself together, Kara peeked at her watch, and saw that it was already 6:48. " _Shoot_ , I'm going to be late !" She looked around, searching for nothing in particular, or maybe just serenity. "Alex !  _You_ 're going to be late ! Do you need me to fly you ? Will you get there on time ?" she asked, panicked.

Alex laughed. "Kara, it's fine. I don't have to be there an hour before the departure, contrary to your beliefs. Don't worry." She watched her sister calm down. "Now, relax, go get changed quickly, and go on your date. It's going to be fine. He'll love you. And if he's an ass, well. You know my number. I  _will_  come back from Geneva to kick his ass, okay ?"

Kara always the protective side of Alex, it sent butterflies in her stomach. Or maybe they were already there, they seemed to fly around every time Alex did something nice for Kara. Which was a  _lot_.

She gave Alex a fond smile, with so much love in her eyes. "Yeah, okay. Thanks Alex." She went to hug Alex before she had to leave. "Have a safe flight" she said, face against Alex's neck. "And call me as soon as you arrive. And if you need me, you know  _my_  number, and I'll come, okay ?" She looked up to look Alex in the eyes, showing her sincerity. "I'll always come, no matter what. Faster than a speeding bullet," she added with a little smile.

"Yeah I know, thanks Kar." They looked at each other for a few moments, not talking, not moving. Just enjoying each other's presence. "Now go, get ready ! I'll call you. I love you," she said before kissing her on the cheek and leaving.

Kara was still watching the door where Alex just disappeared, when her phone beeped. She blinked, realizing she didn't move for a solid minute, and sped to her phone. It was Winn. " _Good luck for your date tonight ! Tell me everything tomorrow at lunch :) "._  It was sweet. She was so lucky to have Winn in her life. She shook her head, sending a quick " _Thanks !_ " and sped to her bathroom to get ready in a record time. It was now 6:56, and if she didn't use super-speed to go to the bar, she was going to be late. Considering she was the one to suggest tonight, she had to be on time.

She quickly showered, got dressed, put a little make-up, put her hair in a high (but not too high) ponytail, and  _ran_  to the bar. Arriving in a dark alley next to the bar, the looked at her watch. 6:59.  _Right on time, perfect._

She walked up to the front of the bar, noticing he wasn't there. She shot him a text " _Hi. Just arrived at the bar."_  She waited a few minutes before her phone buzzed in her hands. " _I'm inside. Blue shirt."_  
She took a deep breath, and walked in. She looked around for a few seconds before recognizing him from his profile picture. She shook her shoulders a bit to try and lose some of the tension before walking to the table where he sat, nose in his phone.

She approached him, and when he looked up she gave him a shy smile. "Hi, I'm Kara," she said, offering her hand.

He took it, looking at her from head to toes before smirking. "Hey. Scott. Nice to meet you, you're really beautiful."

She tried to formulate a coherent answer, but, well...  _Tried_  is the key word here. She chuckled, a little too loudly, "Th-Thanks, you too." There was a pause where she looked at him, petrified, and he was just looking at her with the same smirk, and an eyebrow raised. "I-I mean," she felt heat rising to her cheeks, "n-not  _beautiful_ , we-not that you're  _not_ , you know, but I guess the c-correct term would be handsome ?" she finished, more asking than saying.

He laughed out loud, smile not reaching his eyes, still looking at her. "Thanks. Please, sit."

She let out a shaky breath and flashed him a small smile. She knew she would be out of her comfort zone, but not this much ! Gosh, she really had to put herself together. Not that she wanted to have a second date with  _Scott_. She was often oblivious, but sometimes she wasn't, such as tonight. And she saw how he looked at her. Maybe he would surprise her, but she didn't have much hope.

"Did you wait long ? I'm sorry if I was a little late," she said, trying to start a conversation.

"Oh that's okay, you can't always be on time. You can buy me a drink if you want," he said.

Ah. Alex told her about guys like that. Trying to guilt women into apologizing, even when they did nothing wrong. Good trick. So, no second date for Scott.  _I don't want to waste my evening with him. I have shows to watch._ She gave him a fake smile, and answered "Sure." She shot her arm up, calling a waiter. "I'd like an iced-tea please." She looked at him, waiting for him to give his drink. She saw a look flashed in his eyes as she told her drink. She couldn't get drunk, so it wasn't necessary to waste money on expensive cocktail. Plus, it would be odd if she wasn't the least tipsy. She'd better play it safe, especially with this guy. "A Scotch," he said.

The waited nodded, and went to get their drinks. While waiting, he scrolled through his phone, laughing sometimes. Kara felt so uncomfortable, she wanted to text Alex, but she must be on the plane by now. The waited came back with their drinks, putting them on the table. Kara gave a bill, telling him to keep the change.

Scott looked up from his phone, and put it away to take a sip. A cleared his throat to have Kara's attention. "So, where are you from originally ?"

She looked at him, a bit panicked. How could she not foresee this line of questioning ? "You mean wh-where I was born ? N-North..."

His phone beeped loudly, saving her from further embarrassing herself. He took his phone to look at the screen. He laughed, then without even a glance in her direction, said "Hold on, I have to take this." He stood up and made his way to the entrance of the bar. She had a bad feeling, so she used her super-hearing. She heard him talking to a waitress, asking her number.

So  _that_  was a bust. And Winn wondered why she never went out without Alex. Well. Evidence right here. Her disappointment lasted only a few seconds, before being replaced by sheer terror. She suddenly heard the news, saying the flight 237 headed to Geneva was experiencing a loss of altitude. She stayed frozen for what seemed like an eternity, but was really a second, before shaking out of her stupor. "Did he say Geneva ?!" she asked loudly to no one. What a  _shitty_  day ! "Alex !" she gasped, before getting up and running out of the bar.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you enjoyed this chapter !
> 
> As usual, tell me what tou thought :)


	4. The big reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara goes to save Alex, will they feel something different somehow ?

She didn't even bother to run at human speed, too terrified to pause and  _think_. She ran out, and tried to stop in the alley where she first arrived but ran into the wall. She grunted because it made her lose precious seconds, and began running again, not bothering dusting herself off.

She ran, but more at human speed to make sure she could take off before the end of the alley. She took off her jacket to be as free as possible, and jumped once, not reaching more than three feet. She tried again, jumping up to sixteen feet, and felt her heart soar at the idea of flying again. She refocused immediately, thinking of Alex, and tried a third time, actually managing to really fly. Once stabilized, she took off faster than she ever did into the sky.

She easily located the plane with her super-hearing, though she could have without it, with all the noise it made because of the engines. She sped towards the noise, and stopped once she saw it. She felt like her heart stopped too, and she was petrified.  _Alex was in there_   _!_  She had to move, she had to act, had to do  _something !_

She steeled herself, squared her shoulders, and sped forward, to place herself just above the plane. Of course, because of the engines troubles, something detached itself from the plane and collided straight with her. She didn't even bother to protect herself, just making sure to catch it and letting it drop into the water.  
She finally placed herself above the plane, x-rayed the jet to locate Alex, and once she found her, she made her way under the plane and went to the window where her sister was. She just needed to see her, and Alex to see her, and make her understand she was going to save her.

So she peeked at the window, and seeing Alex with her head resting on the headrest, eyes squeezed shut and her hands clutching the armrests saying over and over " _I'm sorry Kara, I'm so sorry, I love you,"_  like a mantra just made her sick. She "lightly" (for a Kryptonian) tapped on the window to get her sister's attention. She heard Alex stopped muttering her mantra, and saw her head turning slowly towards her, and heard her gasp. She had her eyes opened wide, terror and confusion and  _relief_  written all over her face.

"Kara...?" she whispered, not believing what she was seeing.

Kara gave her a small nod, not managing to smile, and rested the palm of her hand on the glass, putting a little too much force and almost broke it, trying to convey all of her resolve. Alex had tears running down her cheeks now, and put her hand on the window too, matching her sister's. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, when Kara mouthed " _I love you",_  and disappeared. She heard Alex's breath catch before heading in front of the plane to try and stop it from going any faster. 

She positioned herself a few feet in front of the plane, before putting her hands on it and slowly pushing to slow it down. At first, she thought she wouldn't have the strength to actually slow it down, but it turns out she almost stop it in less than five seconds. She felt bad for a second because the passengers must have felt the abrupt stop, but she quickly focused herself on her task, and thought about what to do now. She obviously couldn't let the plane fall from this high up, so she had to come up with a solution. And quick. 

Before the plane started to actually fall -she didn't stop it completely-, she sped under it to support it. Putting her hands flat against the frame, she looked around and saw that she was above the ocean, nothing under them. Not having to worry about people and buildings, she carefully began to fly down until her feet touched the water. She then, even slower than before, entered the water, still holding the plane horizontally, and disappeared completely under water.

Everything was calm for a moment, the water helping block out all the noise from the city, and she let herself float with her eyes closed. Suddenly, all the passengers started to scream, from joy, pain, fear, and Kara suddenly opened her eyes.  _Alex_. She resurfaced next to one of the wings, the one which was from Alex's side, and propped herself up with difficulty. She slowly stood up, the weight of what she had just done dawning on her.

But she just had to turn her head, and see Alex watching her with the same wide eyes than before, but without the fear, to realize she had nothing to be scared of. She did what she had to do. She couldn't let Alex  _die_. She took a shaky breath, while looking Alex right in the eyes, as she imagined what would have happened is she didn't hear the news. If she hadn't made it in time, if Alex... She wouldn't have been able to live with herself. A world without Alex wasn't a real world. It would have no meaning. Alex was her everything. 

As the realization slowly creeped in, she quickly turned her head away from Alex.  _It's just the adrenaline, it's everything that happened today, it's this day. Today really sucks. That's it._

She glanced towards Alex, seeing her still watching her. She wanted to wave, as stupid it would have been, but stopped herself because she felt herself tremble. She didn't know if it was because of the rescue, or the sudden epiphany, so she settled on a small smile, and received a tiny nod in return. She went to the back of the plane to grip it without being seen by the pilots, and carefully dragged it to the shore, where she sent one last look in Alex's direction -thank you x-ray vision- to check on her quickly, before shooting off to the sky.

As wet as she was, she couldn't risk going home through the stairs, so she went to her window and opened it  _with a little bit of super-strength_  and made her way inside. She was exhausted and just wanted to shower and sleep, but she was too restless for that. Despite being drained, she still felt the adrenaline cursing through her veins and just wanted to do  _something_.  _Screw it, I'm going to get Alex_.

After everything that happened to her tonight, she knew Alex would also be traumatized. She almost  _died_. God. She must have been terrorised. She had to get to her, and reassure her, and just  _be_  with her.  
She used super-speed to dry her hair and change her clothes before flying off to scene of the accident. She landed a couple of blocks away, trying not to be seen, and started power walking towards the plane  _landing_. She used her super-senses to locate quickly her sister, and walked up to the plane. She heard sirens in the distance, having been faster than she thought. She slowed down once she got close to the shore, and saw people slide on the evacuation slide. She looked inside to find Alex, and saw her helping people stand, and reassuring them.

 _Of course_  she would help everyone. Rao, she really loved her. Like a  _sister_  of course.

She waited patiently, or not so patiently, pacing surrounded by passerby, checking on Alex every few minutes. Kryptonians experienced time differently,  _okay_?

She suddenly a very familiar heartbeat speed up. She looked up, and saw that not only Alex got off the plane, but that she was just a few feet away. She must have been lost in thoughts for missing her like this. Or tired. Or a combination of both. She didn't really care, and only saw Alex, everything fading around them. It was just them.

She ran to her, at human speed so she wouldn't hurt her, and wrapped her arms around her neck, and settled her face into Alex's neck, breathing in deeply. She felt Alex's arms hold her around her waist, putting her hands on Kara's shoulder blades. They stayed like that for a while, not wanting to move, but Kara felt Alex trembling. After one last squeeze, she held Alex at arm's length, still holding her by the shoulders.

"You're trembling Alex," she said softly.

Alex chuckled shakily. "So are you." She looked at Kara with an indescribable expression.

"I-" she looked at her hands and saw that she  _was_  trembling. "Sorry, I..." she shook her head a little, not able to finish her phrase, feeling a little light headed.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Kara. You..." she hesitated, glancing around, before continuing. "You saved everyone. You saved  _me_. Kar, I..." She tried to keep talking, but no sound came out. She was feeling too emotional, and confused, and so many other emotions. 

"Of course I saved you, I love you." She didn't even noticed she only talked about Alex, and not about the other passengers. She frowned suddenly. " _Why_  are you trembling ? Are-are you in shock ? Oh my god, you're in shock, aren’t you ? I-I... You-" She looked around frantically, not knowing what to do, being in shock herself. "I should get you a hot beverage ? Right ? Stay right here, I'm gonna-"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence before she felt hands on her face, forcing her to look towards her sister. "Kara, I'm  _okay_." She paused, wanting to make sure Kara was listening and  _hearing_  her. "I'm okay. I promise. It's just a bit chilly, and I'm wet because I helped some of the passengers get down of the slide." She stared into beautiful, wide,  _panicked_  blue eyes. "Kara listen to me," she started whispering, "you did it. We're all safe. Try to relax. I'm here." 

When she felt Kara trembling even more, she started to worry. She knew Kara was in shock, but seeing her like that was awful. She heard her gasp, and it quickly turned into a chocked sob. "A-Alex, I th-thought I l-lost you, I can't--"

She couldn't even finish talking, as she began full on sobbing, taking Alex into her arms and holding her as tightly as possible. And Alex understood. "Kara, I'm safe. I'm  _not_  going to leave you, okay ? I won't ever,  _ever_ , leave you. I'll always by your side, no matter what." She rubbed tenderly Kara's back, because she knew it appeased her. Human contact was always the best way to ground her in case of a panic attack or, in this case, being in shock. "I'm right here," she whispered, holding the back of her head with her free hand. "I'm here," she repeated, over and over again.

Losing your entire planet and everyone you love will give you a big, nice,  _awful_  fear of abandonment. At the age of twelve no less. Process those news on a new planet where you can accidentally break a door, or, as easily, kill someone. Trauma after trauma, death after death, and Kara was still who she was. She couldn't believe she got to know someone so strong. So so strong, but so delicate. She made her mission in life to protect Kara from everything she could, but tonight... She could only be there for her.

After a while, she finally felt Kara relax, but still held her to let her know she won't leave. They separated to take a deep breath, Alex smiling a smile reserved jut for Kara, and wiped away the last tears on Kara's cheeks with her thumbs. She felt a urge to protect Kara, even more intense than usual. "I love you," she said again, just having to say it in this moment.

Kara looked at her with a smile full of love for a second before replying, "I love you too, Al."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you it wouldn't be exactly cannon ;)  
> Well, they didn't exactly feel something different, at least not really noticeable, except a little for Kara if she decided to think about it  
> Kara just couldn't wait to see her sister, and went back to her, what did you think ?  
> I had some difficulty with the plane scene and "action" vocabulary, I hope it's readable...
> 
> I actually don't get why she waited for her in her appartment on the show. Like, she revealed herself for Alex, but let her drive home by herself while being excited by the news and seeing herself on TV ?  
> I mean, I do understand she's happy because that's what she always wanted to do, even if she didn't realise it before. I get it.  
> But that's her sister, her best friend. Even if she's "only" her sister on the show, I would have waited for her in a corner or something. I don't know. It's just my opinion :)
> 
> Well, I hope you liked this chapter ! I was really tired, and almost didn't write it to go to bed, but I really wanted to write it and hear your opinions :3
> 
> 'Till next time O>


	5. Alex's secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing big happens in this chapter (sorry), but it's between two "big" chapters. And if I'm not too tired, I'll write and publish the next one tonight :)

They were still lost in each others eye's when they heard the sirens getting closer. They looked around to see that a lot of people were around them and the other passengers, either trying to help those who were hurt, or just trying to film everything.

Kara never took her hand off Alex, always touching her in some way. Fingers intertwined, a hand on Alex’s elbow, shoulder against shoulder… She didn’t even notice doing that, but she unconsciously had to make sure she touched Alex, make sure she was really here, really okay.

Feeling her sister’s insecurity, Alex reached out to take Kara around the waist with one arm, and took Kara’s hand with her free one. Kara turned her head to look at Alex, offering her a shy smile. "We’re just going to wait for the police to ask us a few questions, and we’ll get out of here. Okay ?" Alex tried to reassure Kara.

But Kara just frowned and shook her head. "What ? No Alex, you need to be looked at. You were just in a plane crash !"

Seeing Kara’s rising panic, she squeezed her waist to have her attention. "Kara, I’m fine. I’m not hurt, I promise. We- _I_ ’ll just give my statement and we’ll go home."

Just when she finished her sentence, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Well, at least her phone was waterproof.

" _Crap,"_  she muttered under her breath. When she saw Kara looking at her worriedly, she shook a head minutely with a wry smile. "It’s work. I have to answer." Kara looked like she was about to protest so Alex put her hand on Kara’s elbow. "I’ll be quick, I promise. It must be important given the time. They must have seen the news and want to see if I’m okay."

Kara huffed. "That can wait Alex !"

"Kara, please. Just a minute, okay ?" she asked. She had to take this call, she didn’t think it was a coincidence the plane a DEO agent was in almost crashed.

Kara looked at her for a few seconds, really not liking this. "Fine. They have one minute Alex. I’m not kidding."

Alex kissed her cheek before walking away while answering. "Danvers."

Kara continued to watch her sister walk away and didn’t listen in on her conversation, always respecting her privacy. Meanwhile, she counted in her head, making sure the phone call didn’t last more than one minute.

When she was at 38 seconds, she saw Alex hung up and coming back towards her. "Did you listen ?" she asked.

For a second, Kara thought she was worried, but she must be imagining things because it wouldn’t make sense. « Of course not, why ? Is everything alright ? ».  _She_  was worried now. "They didn’t fire you, did they ? You didn’t mean to miss the conference, I’ll-" she was mad now.

Alex stopped her immediately. "Kara, I’m not fired. I just… We need to go somewhere."

Kara was confused now. "Somewhere ? Where ? Wait, you mean  _now_  ?"

She took a deep breath and released it slowly before answering. "Yes, now. I’m sorry. It’s about the plane." She paused. "Kara, I’m not-I… Look, I can’t really tell you now, but you need to trust me, okay ?" She looked at Kara seriously, and Kara was looking at her so confused. "Please," she added, to show her sister it was important.

Kara was still looking at her, searching Alex’s face for a clue, when they heard the police. She turned her head towards the police cars, but kept her eyes on her sister. "Okay. But I want to know everything as soon as possible. Especially if it involves you.  _And_  the plane."

Alex looked relieved, her squared shoulders visibly relaxing thanks to the approval of her sister. "Of course, as soon as I can, I promise."

What was  _that_  all about ? Did Alex working in a lab was somehow related to the accident tonight ?

She was lost in thoughts when she heard Alex speak. "Excuse me officer ? Can I give you my statement now so I can go home and rest ? I’m not feeling… Well," she said, pretending to lose her balance a little. Alex was something else, manipulating the officer.

Kara stayed glued to her sister’s side all through the conversation with the officer, never not touching her. Being an accident, or so they thought, they didn’t have many questions for Alex. She said she didn’t know what happened, and didn’t see anything. Kara knew she was lying to keep her presence a secret, even if other passengers must have seen her.

She was worried about Alex. She didn’t seem to be in shock, which was odd considering the gravity of the accident. She has been  _this_  close to die, and she seemed just fine. Well, she looked worried, but not even about herself. She kept glancing in Kara’s direction, so she guessed she was worried about her, having revealed herself to the world.

Frankly, it wasn’t that big of a deal. She could just stay hidden in the shadows, not using her powers ever again, like she did until tonight. Well,  _if_  no one recognized her of course. She didn’t think anyone would though, in her hurry, her glasses and hairband fell when she flew for the first time in years, in that back…  _Her glasses ! She had to find them, Jeremiah’s glasses !_

The officer left a couple of minutes ago, but Alex didn’t say anything, watching her sister seemingly lost in her own world. Suddenly, she felt her tense under her arm and heard her take a breath. "Alex !" she gasped, eyes wide. "My glasses ! I lost them ! Th-They must have fallen when I flew from the bar, I-I have to get them !"

Alex looked at Kara with understanding. "Kara, breathe, it’s okay. We’ll go get them before leaving for… Before leaving."

Kara’s chest was rising and lowered quickly, but with Alex’s hand rubbing her back, she took a shaky breath and calmed down. "Y-Yeah, okay. We’ll just- do that. Yeah." She looked into her sister’s eyes. "Thanks," she added with a small smile.

Alex just smiled back before saying, "Come on, let’s go. We’ll go back to the bar, grab your stuff, and then we’ll go to my work."

Her head snapped in Alex’s direction. "Your  _work_?! Alex, can’t it wait ? I know you like what you do and everything, but-"

"I told you it was important. And I need you to come with me. I also have to introduce you to some people."

Kara felt a shiver running through her spine. She squinted suspiciously. "You need to introduce me, an  _alien,"_  she whispered the last word,  "to you co workers. Who work in a  _lab_." She paused, trying to make Alex understand what it sounded like. "A minute after you almost died in a plane crash.  _Alex_ -" she began hissing.

"Kara, Kara !" Alex stopped her, her eyes wide and her heart going fast. "What are you trying to say ?" she asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"I don’t  _know_ ,  _Alex_  !" she said in a shout whisper, now angry and confused. "You won’t tell me anything, and even if I don’t regret anything I did tonight, I’m  _freaking out_  !" she finished, looking around, the panic starting to come back full swing.

Alex didn’t believe she didn’t think about what she told her sister, not under the circumstances from tonight. She quickly backpedaled. "No no, you’re right," she hastened to say, "I’m sorry, I… I didn’t think. I just…" she let out a breath to try and calm down. "Kara, look-" She looked around, and decided they needed more privacy. She took Kara’s hand and led her away to an isolated corner. She tried again, her hand still holding Kara's. "Look, I’m not really… working in a lab." She paused, letting Kara digest the information.

"Wh-Wha-" she couldn’t say a coherent question and took a deep breath. "I-I don’t- you  _lied_  to me about that ?  _Why ?_  "

She looked so confused, it made Alex’s heart ache. "I was trying to protect you, I swear. You need to trust me." She looked her sister in the eyes, her own never wavering. "I work for the government. After what happened tonight… Kara, we don’t think it was an accident."

Kara felt her heart rate going up dangerously, and lost touch with reality for a second, feeling light headed.

" _Kara_  !" Alex hissed, "your eyes !"

Kara quickly squeezed her eyes shut, eyebrows furrowed, focusing on Alex's hand around hers. She took a couple of deep breath to relax, not wanting to destroy everything with her laser-eyes. She waited a few seconds after being sure she wouldn’t accidentally hurt someone, and slowly opened them again. "Are you saying someone was targeting  _you_?" she asked through gritted teeth, not bothering hiding her fury.

Alex's face was a mask of seriousness she only saw when something was wrong, like when the guys bullied her at school and Alex tried to talk about it with her. "It's a possibility, yeah," she said, giving a tight nod. "We need to investigate and confirm it. And find the people who did this. It's an act of terrorism, trying to kill so many people !" she said, obviously shaken up by the fact that the passengers almost died just because she was on that plane.

"Yeah... I'll help however I can Alex," she said softly, trying to reassure Alex she wasn't alone in this. 

"Thanks, Kar," she answered with a soft smile. She cleared her throat to continue. "So, now that you know, we need to get going. I'll explain the rest later, we don't really have time," she said, starting to walk.

Kara caught up with her with two large steps. "Do you want me to fly us there ? I'd go faster alone, but I'm not leaving your side," she said, leaving no room to argue.

Her sister watched her for a beat before affirming, "Yeah, it'll save us some time. Just... I don't want anyone spotting us- _you_  and risk recognizing you. I'm not risking you even more."

She took off her hoodie she wore for plane rides and road trips (comfy clothes were mandatory for long journeys according to Kara) and gave it to her sister.

Kara looked at the  _wet_  hoodie with an eyebrow raised, question clear on her face. "Wear it, and put on the hood."

She took the hoodie, put in on and put on the hood, obscuring her face, and they walked to an empty spot. Alex was just going to ask Kara how she wanted to carry her, when the ground disappeared from under her feet and let out a yelp. She blinked and found herself being carried bridal style. She was going to tell Kara to put her down and carry her like a normal person when Kara beat her to it. "It's the most secure way to hold you while flying Alex, don't start whining," she said with finality. She grinned for a second, then returned to being serious. "Put your hands around my neck and hide you face on my neck. It'll hide you, and protect you from the wind."

She didn't wait for Alex to do what she was  _commanded_ , and took off to the sky. Gently. Alex quickly hold Kara by the neck, but only put her cheek on Kara's shoulder, so she could see the scenery. It's been a  _decade_  since they went flying together. It was bringing back so many memories, making her heart clench. It was easier back then. Even though everything was still raw for Kara, they were already close. There was no secret, not like now. She let herself smile when she realized there would be no secret soon.

Her heart started beating faster however when she also realized she didn't know how Kara was going to react. She was working for the government branch her dad died for (or because of). She was arresting aliens left and right, not bothering giving them a trial. Well, only the dangerous ones. Still. They were refugees like Kara, and she didn't know if her sister would take their side over hers.

It was too late though, it wouldn't do any good worrying about it now. And she regretted nothing, would do it again in a heartbeat to protect Kara. Even if it cost her her sister, she'd rather live miserable knowing Kara was safe, rather than have her close but in constant danger. She did what she had to do.

She tightened her hold on Kara, making the most of the moment, and felt Kara holding her closer as well. She was her sister, they were always there for each other. She didn't need to worry, Kara would still be there for her, even if she wasn't happy with Alex's decision.

They finally reached their destination, and Kara gently put Alex down, still holding her to make sure she kept her balance. They looked around the alley for a minute before Alex heard Kara grunt.

"What is it ? Did you break something ?" she asked walking towards Kara, who was looking at a wall. Getting closer, she understood why Kara looked so miserable. Her purse was burried at least twenty inches into the concrete. She snorted.

Kara looked irritated. "Shoot. I must have threw it with too much force, I wasn’t really focusing... And I'll destroy it if I try to pull it out." She crossed her arms, tilting her head, trying to find a solution.

Alex shook her head with a smile. "Go find your glasses, I'll take care of this." Kara looked at her dubiously. She raised an eyebrow, and said with a grin, " _Go_ , I got this. I'll have you know, I'm an agent. I can take a purse from a wall."

Kara lost her relaxed posture at the word " _agent_ ", and gave a firm nod before walking away trying to find the missing item. She looked around with x-ray vision, and quickly found the lead-lined glasses on the ground, at least sixty-five feet from the back door of the bar. She picked it up, and checked it for any scratch, but they were as good as new.  _Thank you Jeremiah_.

She turned to join her sister and help her with the purse, but found her waiting for her, arms crossed, back leaning against the wall. "Took you long enough !" she joked, obviously proud with herself.

"Yeah, well, I'm no  _agent,_ " she replied more curtly than she intended. But she wasn't going to apologize, the betrayal hurt.

Alex's face fell, and reached for Kara's hand with her own. "Kar..." she whispered sadly.

"Don't, it's fine," and kept her hands behind her back, avoiding contact. "Just- let's just go to- wherever you work. We don't have much time, remember," she said, never looking directly at Alex. She still stole a glance when she heard Alex shakily gasp. She took a breath, seeing Alex looking down at the floor misty-eyed, wringing her fingers. "Come on Alex," she said softly, before taking her hands in hers. She looked at her with a kind face, making her understand she'll get over it with time. She was still her sister.

She squeezed her hands before letting go and carrying her bridal style again. She saw Alex hesitate before slowly putting her arms around her neck. "So. Where to ?" Kara asked.

There was a pause. A deep breath.

"The DEO."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, Kara finally learns the truth ! Well, not the whole truth, she will once at the DEO.  
> I hope I was close to "reality" with their reactions and everything  
> But will the betrayal be too much ? They're supposed to be totally honest with each other, no secret. At least not this big. How will Kara react ?  
> Tell me what you think !


	6. The DEO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally go to the DEO, and Kara discovers a few things. Things are tense between them, but they need to work it out, they have bad guys to catch. After all, someone tried to kill the most important person in Kara's life.  
> Some angst, some fluff, some new characters. Enjoy !

Alex steeled herself for Kara's reaction. She closed her eyes, waiting for Kara to say something. Instead, she felt her freeze and somehow trembling at the same time. She slowly opened her eyes again to see her sister watching her with a terrified expression. She had her eyes opened wide, mouth agape an wasn't moving a muscle, except for the light trembling she obviously didn't control. Or notice.

They stared at each other for long seconds, Alex scared of what Kara was going to say -or do-, and Kara petrified.  
Of course Kara knew what the DEO was. They  _did_  hear a bit of the conversation between Jeremiah and Hank Henshaw. Well, the whole bit actually, thanks to Kara's hearing. So they learned quite a lot that night, but kept it to themselves. They kept trying to find new theories to Jeremiah's death, how it happened, maybe protecting someone, or even saving the world. That's how Alex stayed sane after everything. Her dad didn't die in vain. And even without their theories, they still knew for sure he did it to keep Kara safe.

Finally, Alex decided to break the silence "Kara-" she whispered, only to be interrupted.

"The  _DEO_  ?! Alex, wha- you're kidding, right ?  _Right ?_ " she shouted. Luckily they were in that dark alley, away from prying eyes and ears. "I-I'm not- I don't  _understand_ how-"

She kept shaking her head, as if trying to deny it. She was shaking harder now, and super-sped to put Alex down (safely) and stepped backwards until her back was up against the wall. She was frantically looking around, like she was trying to find an answer somewhere. Her throat was tightening, her heart was racing like never and she couldn't remember what was happening. before Kara was having a full blown panic attack.  _Hello old friend_. She tried to breathe deeply and slowly, like Eliza taught her, but she just couldn't. 

Not being able to calm herself down like she got used to only stressed her out more. She couldn't control her hands now, and black spots appeared around the edges of her vision. As if it wasn't already bad, her powers were acting up. Nothing dangerous, but her x-ray vision kept being turned on and off without any control over it. She kept blinking, trying to get her normal vision back, but to no avail.

For a few minutes, she didn't even feel Alex's hands squeezing hard her own, and only looked down at the floor. Suddenly she felt a weight on her nose, blinked, and only saw normally. She blinked again to see if it would last, but she saw Alex's skin and not her bones. She realized she had Jeremiah's glasses. Alex stepped closer and embraced her as tightly as she could. She knew Kara, and Kara not only liked human contact, but craved it, especially during panic attacks. It helped ground her to reality, and the pressure helped calm down her heart rate.

They stayed like that for a moment, and more Kara was coming back, more she was aware of her surroundings. Well, mostly Alex. Alex was everywhere. She felt Alex all around her, she smelt her (her shampoo and salt ? Oh right, the plane crash into the ocean), saw her from the corner of her eyes, and she heard her. "I'm sorry. I'm here, you're safe, I promise. You're safe Kara, no one's going to touch you, I promise. You're safe with me, it's okay," she said over and over again.

Kara was starting to calm down, only slightly shivering now, and drained.  _Man_ , using so much her powers today, being in shock, almost losing Alex, and now a panic attack ? Come  _on_  ! Didn't she deserve some serenity ?

She sniffed, and Alex released her hold a bit so she could wipe always Kara's tears with her sleeve. Kara didn't even notice she was crying. She sniffed again and looked at Alex. She still didn't know what to think. She was exhausted. Breathing steadily and deeply, she closed her eyes and laid her head on Alex's shoulder, realizing they were now sitting, her back still against the wall. Alex's left arm was around Kara's shoulders, rubbing her left arm, while her right hand was clutching Kara's hands, her thumb gently stroking Kara's knuckles.

"How are you feeling ?" Alex asked softly, not stopping her movements.

"Don't know..." she mumbled,  _really_  tired. "Better I guess." She didn't develop.

Alex sighed. "That's good." She paused, seemingly gathering her courage. "Look, Kara... I'm not..." she huffed, annoyed with herself for not finding the right words when it mattered the most. "I know you're scared after what I just told you, and... It is a big secret. It's a  _lot_. I get it. Just- I promise you I'm still me, the same me you always knew, okay ?" She looked into Kara's eyes, worried. "The DEO really changed a few years back. We arrest aliens that are dangerous, but treat them right and... And I can protect you that way. I'm doing this  _for_  you Kara. Not  _because_  you. You know I'd do anything for you. That's just... One more thing." Her eyes were stinging now, almost releasing tears, but she didn't care. She could let herself be vulnerable with Kara,  _only_  with her. "I'm  _sorry_  for lying to you, it was the worst, I-I'm not sure how long I could have kept going."

Kara stared into her eyes for a few beats, trying to process everything. It was like they were having a blinking contest, but no one would laugh when one would lose. She wanted to be still mad at her, but seeing her like this... She couldn't take it. Not strong, fierce and kind Alex.

"You're right," she finally said, "it's a lot. I'm not sure what I feel about... Everything. I'm- I mean I love you, that will never change. I don't like knowing you're putting yourself in danger like that." She removed her hands from Alex's to change position and turning herself to be face to face with Alex, taking her hands in her own this time. "I'm not sure I understand everything either, I think we-we need to talk."

Alex finally let her tears run free. Kara put her left hand on Alex's right cheek to catch one of the tears, and leaning in to kiss the others on the opposite cheek. Alex's breath caught and she froze. Kara then put her forehead against Alex's and closed her eyes, basking in her warmth. "Y-Yeah," Alex whispered, her voice unsteady. "Thank you Kara, for-for not running away, and for staying," she murmured. "I don't know what I would have done if-if y-you didn't want to see m-me again," she continued, her voice breaking.

Her sister slid her hands down to her neck, thumbs rubbing gently Alex's cheekbones. "Hey," she whispered, looking straight into her eyes. "I'm not leaving you.  _Ever_. I promise. We'll get through this, okay ?" Alex gave her a little nod and Kara smiled a little. "Okay." She took a deep breath, ran her hands over her face, trying to pull herself together. She slowly stood up on her legs still shaky, and held out her hand to Alex. She smiled encouragingly.

Alex slightly hesitated before take Kara's hand and got up too. She shyly kept Kara's fingertips in hers. "Thanks Kar. I love you."

She smiled fondly at Alex. "I know Alex. Me too." She then looked up to the sky and sighed. "So, I'm exhausted," she declared with a low chuckle. "Do we really need to go to the DEO tonight ?"

Alex grimaced, and said apologetically. "We really do, I'm sorry Kara. They just- they don't know you, so you need to at least introduce yourself, so they can relax. Make them understand you're on our side." Kara looked like she was going to cut in, so she quickly continued. "I know,  _I_  know, you are. Of course you are. But they don't want a pinkie promise from me, they want to be  _sure_. They're government." Kara noticed Alex didn't say "we", but "they". It put her at ease. "And you can crash there. We have ton of beds because of the night shift and everything. I can even get you a room for yourself if it helps. I'll surely join you anyway, I'm also pretty tired." She looked at Kara. "Too many emotions," she chuckled.

Kara snorted. "Understatement of the year." She paused, deliberating for a moment. "Okay, we'll go tonight. But I'm not leaving your side, not even to sleep. I'll just float around you, like an annoying balloon than can never deflate," she added with a grin.

Alex actually laughed, relieved. They were still okay. "Yeah ? That's okay, I'll just tie your ankle to my wrist with a long, strong string or something." She shook her head with an amused expression. "So, let's go  _balloon_. The faster we're there, the faster we can go to sleep." She stretched out her arms, eyebrows up. "Come on little alien, I'm  _waiting,"_  she teased with a wide grin.

Her sister chuckled, and picked her up in her arms. Once she was settled, Kara tightened her grip for a second, and took off.

 

Kara was flying towards the DEO under Alex's guidance. But she was going slowly, wanting to enjoy the calm before the storm.  _Well_ , more like the calm between two storms. Still, she wanted to enjoy this closeness, out in the sky. Now that she knew the truth, she was calmer. Alex was fine, she was alive, and she loved Kara enough to lie to her for years just to protect her.

With this new information, she saw Alex in a different light. Of course, she always knew Alex was very protective of her, has proved it multiple times in the past. But it was to shield her from unwanted attention from guys, or sad movies. Or even her own thoughts, when she felt she wasn't good enough, and didn't deserve to survive Krypton's demise. Alex was always there to keep the guys away from her, or to remind her she did deserve to be here, if just to live a somewhat normal life. And if that wasn't enough, she would always remind her she made her life better when Kara arrived. Maybe not at first, she  _did_  clog the bathroom after all. But now, she couldn't imagine her life without her, and remind her she wouldn't be this happy without her new sister.

But this, the  _DEO_ , the fighting against dangerous aliens... It was a whole new level. She felt her heart soar with love, so much love she was afraid she'd implode. She tried not to think too much about the love  _she_  felt for Alex. Being this close together, flying, flying to the  _DEO_ , to catch the person responsible for trying to  _kill_  Alex, it definitively wasn't a good time. She decided to just  _avoid_  the issue altogether. Yeah, good plan. 

 

Finally, above nothing but the desert, Alex told Kara to begin descending. There was a long pause before Kara talked. "Well-I mean... Where is it ?", she asked.

Alex  _snorted_ , and answered with a grin, "They wouldn't exactly be a  _secret_  agency if everyone could see them on Google Earth Kara," she explained with a light chuckle. "It's also lead-lined," she added with a sombre expression.

Embarrassed, Kara cleared her throat and turned her head to hide the blushing. "R-Right, sure. Of course." She paused. "Hum, before we do that though, should I, like, change ? I mean, wouldn't it bad if they recognize me ?" she asked, unsure. 

Alex pursed her lips, before saying, "Sorry sis, but this ship has sailed." When she received a glare, she huffed. " _I_  didn't say anything Kara. Trust me, if I could make sure no one would know you're not from this planet, I would. No, they... They just know. Your arrival on Earth wasn't exactly stealthy," she finished with a shrug. However, sensing Kara remaining tense, she quickly added. "Hey, it's all good though. I know them. It's okay. I'm pretty highly ranked, so I make sure to keep it that way, don't worry." She sweetly smiled at her sister. "I got your back. Always."

Okay, with words like that, it wasn't exactly easy to avoid her problem. For example, she felt heat rising to her cheeks and a big goofy smile made its way to her face. No control whatsoever on any of those reactions. Great. "Okay, I guess if you say so. I do trust you Alex," she added more seriously.

Alex gave her a lopsided smile while squeezing her shoulder. "I know." She stopped squeezing, and patted twice, "Come on, let's get this over with."

They slowly started coming down, Kara on high alert, all her senses buzzing, ready to detect any threat. She didn't to though, Alex was her free pass into the lion den. Once on the ground, she put Alex cautiously put Alex down, and noticed that she kept Kara's hand in hers. It instantaneously calmed her, but still kept her powers on alert. Just in case. 

They made their way inside, put were stopped at the entrance, about fifteen guns pointed at them. Well. At  _her_. Alex was known here, no one was stupid enough to aim at her. They'd discover later it was safer to point a gun at her rather than at her sister, as bulletproof as she was.

Before Alex could even take an angry step forward, ready to disarm and painfully ask to retreat everyone here, Kara was in front of her in an instant with a mask of fury. Ready to protect her from anyone who would be foolish enough to even  _think_  about hurting her. The soldiers wavered just a bit under Kara's expression, and the evident protective stance.

Alex tightly gripped Kara's right shoulder so she could feel the pressure, even being this tense. "Kara, let me go talk to them." Not feeling Kara move an inch, she added, "They listen to me. They don't know you and they're soldiers. They react like they were taught to. Trust me."

She saw Kara falter. "I do. But," she added, louder so everyone could hear her, "if I see anyone try to hurt you, I won't hold back." Eyes still on her sister, Kara was all seriousness, no teasing present.

Not knowing why, Alex felt shivers run down her spine. Maybe it was fear, knowing what an angry Kryptonian could do. But that was ridiculous, Alex has never been afraid of Kara. Not since she saved this mother and her baby from the burning car that day on the beach anyway. So she filed her reaction for later, and nodded.

She walked up to the little army. "Put your arms down." She waited for them to do as she said. But they didn't, only looked at each others, not knowing what to do in this situation. She gets it. "It's an order," she added. While showing Kara with her arm outstretched in her direction, she continued. "She came in peace. In case you hadn't noticed, you're all still alive. I'm sure you all saw what happened tonight." When she received uncertain nods, she declared, "As all of you know, I was in that plane." She pointed directly at her sister, anger taking over. " _She_  saved me. I'm alive  _thanks_  to her, so show some damn respect !" she concluded with a rising voice.

There was a long, silent pause, before all the guards put their guns down, and stand to attention, showing their understanding. Low murmurs of "sorry" was all that could be heard in that instant. Alex exhaled, relieved, and turned to smile to her sister. Rather than seeing a smiling, proud, or even guarded Kara, she only saw awe. Her smile turned bashful and motioned to comes so they finally could go inside.

Kara practically skipped to her sister, giddy, all anger forgotten. "My gosh Alex !" she whispered. "Who  _are_  you, like the Director or something ? That was so  _cool_ , I can't believe you didn't tell me before !" she gushed. Alex looked pained at the mention of her lie, but Kara just kept going, like it wasn't anything bad. "If I were you, I would have told you so long ago, just so I could brag !" she finished with a giggle.

Alex was looking at her like she had grown another head, but still kept an amused expression. "I'm not the Director Kara, I'm just an Agent."

At the mention of Alex's status, Kara quickly sobered up. "Right, you did say you were an Agent earlier."

Alex frowned, not understanding the changing behavior. Just like after the her rescue, she took her hand and lead them in a quiet spot. "Kara, what is it ? You seemed... Happy when you thought I was the director. What's the difference with being an agent ?" she asked, confused.

Kara was watching her intensely, gathering her thoughts. "Being the director means having power, but most of all it means doing all the boring paperwork, and other boring stuff. I've seen it. Well-I mean, not from a  _secret agency,_ " she whispered the two last words, making it hard for Alex not to laugh, because they  _were_  in said secret agency, "but I know the more power you have, the less you... Actually do."

Alex searched Kara's face for a moment, trying to understand what she was saying. "I'm not sure I'm following."

She put a hand on Alex's forearm, holding it too tightly. "What I mean is, even if I don't know the ranks, I'm pretty sure you're a soldier too, right ?" At Alex's hesitant nod, she continued. "You must have trained a lot, and for a lot of situations." She paused as she realized something. " _That_ 's why you weren't in shock earlier, wasn't it ?" she asked a bit louder, lost in her sudden realization.

"Y-Yeah, I mean, that was not the first ti-", she quickly cut herself off, finally getting where Kara was going with this. She let out a raspy " _Oh_."

"Yeah. That's what I thought. See- Alex, I don't want you to risk your  _life_  for  _me,_ " she said fervently. "Not for me," she repeated in a whisper. She sighed, closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, sure she was getting a headache despite never having one before. Sensing Alex not having an answer to this right now, she concluded. "We're tired. And emotional after everything that happened today. Can we like- talk about it later ? A full night of sleep later ?" she asked with a soft smile.

Alex visibly relaxed, obviously not ready not have this kind of conversation. "Of course," she reassured, putting her hand above Kara's who had soften her grip. "You're right, and we do need to go debrief."

They turned to go back to the entrance only to see all the guards silently observing them. Both embarrassed, Kara because she didn't know them, and Alex because she  _did_  know them, they kept walking side by side. They made their way to the big hall, where all the monitors were, and where the activity never died down. Alex walked surefooted, confident. Kara noticed she also seemed to stand taller, her chin higher, as if being here made Alex more confident in herself. Like she belonged here. She felt so proud for her sister, it made her misty eyed.

She sniffed, and quickly rubbed her eyes to get rid of any unwanted tears. Alex glanced at her, curious, but she shook her head with a soft smile. Her eyes twinkled with love, and Alex understood, her heart missing a beat. She smiled back before taking a deep breath to try to make the weird feelings in her stomach stop. Meanwhile, Kara was doing the same thing for the same reason.

After her heart slowed down, Kara really looked around for the first time. It was getting increasingly difficult focusing on anything other than Alex. Especially after her epiphany.  _And_  almost losing her. She had a hard time sorting out her feelings between those two events, but she didn't spend much time trying.  _Anyway_ , she looked around and was surprised by how  _normal_  it seemed. Sure, everyone was more or less armed, there were monitors as big as her bed all over a big hall, and it was shockingly quiet. But still. For a secret government agency that hunted aliens, you'd think the base would be...  _different_. It strangely put her at ease.

Until she heard someone calling for her. "Danvers !" 

Both sisters turned around, Alex standing immediately to attention as she instantaneously recognized the voice. Kara, however, kept her nonchalance, before she felt a nudge from her sister. Getting anxious in this unknown environment, she stood straighter and kept her arms alongside her body.

"Sir," answered Alex.

A tall, imposing black man walked up to them, standing tall, hands linked behind his back. He glanced back and forth, from Alex to Kara, and from Kara to Alex. "What is this ?" he demanded in a imposing low voice. Kara was certain it would be a soothing voice if it wasn't so distrusting.

"Sir, I came with her so you two could meet," she said, voice unwavering, though Kara could sense some hesitation. She discreetly brush her shoulder against Alex's to remind her she wasn't alone. She glanced at Alex, seeing her suppressing a smile. "She saved my life, sir. She's not and never will be a threat. I brought her so you could see for yourself. I understand I acted selfishly and I am ready to face the consequences."

She heard a low inhale from her left, and knew Kara was going to meddle. She  _couldn't_ , or being suspended or fired would not be the only punishment tonight. She quickly grabbed her arm and held on as tightly as she could while giving her a hard look, shaking her head almost imperceptible. Kara quietly huffed in resignation and looked straight ahead, arms crossed. Alex released her grip and returned to her original position, waiting for her director to speak.

He was silently watching their interaction, thinking. He looked straight into Alex's eyes for a moment, maybe waiting for her to apologize, she didn't know. He seemed to reach a decision as he called over his shoulder, "Vasquez !"

An Agent with short brown hair stoop up from her position in front of a computer, in front of all the big monitors, and came literally  _running_ , coming to a halt next to the man. "Yes, Sir ?"

"Bring me the Kryptonite handcuffs," he ordered.

The Agent,  _Vasquez_ , quickly glanced at Alex looking a little worried. "Yes, Sir." And she quickly ran in another direction before hearing Alex explode behind her.

"Kryptonite ? Sir, you  _know_  what it does !" she said angrily.

Next to her, Kara looked ready to bolt, terrified. The only thing keeping her in her spot was Alex. So she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists, trying to keep her breathing under control. It wasn't looking good for her.

"I'm not killing her, Agent Danvers.", he answered, sounding...  _exasperated_  ? "We just need to restrain her during interrogation. You  _know_  it's protocol," he continued, his voice softer.

Alex was still looking infuriated, and asked, "Is it really necessary, Sir ? She came here willingly, and you know who she is. She's my  _family_." Her voice trembled trying not to shout.

Kara was still trying to breath deeply, eyes still closed, afraid of her laser vision. She suddenly felt a light pressure on her right fist and quickly recognised Alex's rough hands. She understood now why her hands were rough since a couple of years ago. All of the training must have not been easy. She focused on the feeling on her hand, Alex's thumb gently stroking her skin.

"I know, Agent Danvers. But protocol is still protocol." He glanced at Kara, measuring his next words. "If it can make you feel better Miss Danvers, you have no reason to worry. You saved one of us tonight," he said gently.

Alex snapped her head towards her boss so fast it made her neck cracking. She never heard him talk so kindly to someone. He always looked so stoic, almost robot-like. She still kept alert, in case it was a trick, but she didn't think so. He was always straightforward. She felt Kara relaxing her fist until her hand was opened, gently holding Alex's.

She took a shaky breath before speaking for the first time since the man's arrival. "I understand. I don't like it, but I do understand. I'll cooperate with everything you need." She slightly paused. "Concerning tonight," she added. She wasn't here to reveal all of her secrets. She knew they knew who she was, here on earth, and where she came from, but that didn't mean they knew everything. She still had a right to privacy.

She felt a squeeze on her hand, and looked sideways to see her sister smiling proudly. She returned the smile, and felt herself relax even more.  _Thank Rao for Alex_.

"Thank you Miss Danvers," he said. She just answered with a nod. She closed her eyes and sighed. The night was far from over.

Just as Alex opened her mouth to say something to Kara, Agent Vasquez came back with something metallic that looked  _heavy_. Kara sighed again. She straight out her arms in front of her so the agent could handcuff her. She quietly waited as Agent Vasquez did her job, clicking big parts of the restraining object, and she felt Alex silently vibrating with hidden rage. With not so well hidden rage. She gave her a look, widening her eyes for a microsecond to let her know she needed to  _calm down_.

Alex gave her a displeased look, but clenched her jaw. She turned her head a bit so she could close her eyes and just  _relax_  without having her boss see her.

As Vasquez finished clicking the last metal parts, she asked, unsure. "Sir, this is Nth metal. She can't get out of it, even without using the Kryptonite. Do I keep it turned off ?" she asked.

Even Kara could see it was her way to help the situation a little, and she was eternally grateful, even if it didn't work. She still hoped though. She never heard of the Kryptonite stuff they kept talking about, but it couldn't be good. It was obviously to keep her powers ineffective or make her weak. Either way, she knew she wouldn't like it.

Even Alex tried to hide her small smile at the unasked help from her colleague. She looked at her boss, hopeful.

He kept his gaze on Vasquez, searching her face for something. He seemed to do that a lot, like he was trying to see right through them somehow.  _Right_. "Turn it on. On level one, she'll barely feel it, but it is protocol," he said.

Kara felt Alex relax her grip on her arm and exhale, relieved. She was too. Vasquez nodded and turned on the emitter on level one with a code. Kara faintly feel even more tired than before, and felt a slight pain all over her body, like she exercised to much, or slept on an uncomfortable couch. She waited a beat to see if she'd feel more symptoms, but that's all she felt. Really tired a little sore. She could handle that.

"You're alright ?" asked softly Alex.

"Y-Yeah, I think so. I'm feeling really tired, but I was before coming here so it's not surprising. But now I feel a little sore, like all over my body. But nothing serious. Don't worry," she said with a small smile.

Alex looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Okay. No, yeah, that's normal. It's good you don't feel too much the effects." She looked at her boss. "Get we get the interrogation and paperwork over with, Sir ?" she asked wearily. "We had one hell of a night, we'd like to go to sleep. Oh, but we're going to sleep here, so we'll be there tomorrow." And like an afterthought, "If that's okay, Sir."

He nodded, looking at them both. "Okay," he agreed. "Just for this once," he added, as if he didn't want to agree with too many things tonight. "Let's get moving," he ordered. "Let's go to the meeting room, I don't think I need to scare her to keep her honest," he added with a mischievous look.

Alex felt her mouth open with shock as her boss began walking towards the meeting room after dismissing Agent Vasquez. "I don't think I ever saw him like that," she whispered to Kara, not believing her eyes.

Kara chuckled. "What, he doesn't show emotions ? He's human Alex, grow up," she teased.

She gave her a lopsided grin, before her face turned into a kind expression, reserved only for Kara. "I'm sorry you have to be handcuffed Kara. Hank doesn't... He's not bad, he just needs to cover our butt, in case there's ever an investigation," she explained.

"No, I get it Alex. It's okay," she said looking into her eyes. "You don't have to justify his actions to me. I trust you, and you wouldn't be working for a bad person."

"I love you," Alex said, not meaning to say it in this moment, but thinking it so hard it just slipped out. She shrugged internally because it wasn't like she never said it.

But Kara felt herself blushing nonetheless, because it held a different meaning in her head now. "I love you too."

Alex smiled and put her hand on Kara's back to guide her. "Come on. I want to sleep. In a comfy bed." They both sighed dreamily.

They stepped in the room a couple minutes later ( _damn_  this agency was a big place), and they sat down. Kara to the end of a long table, Hank on her right a few seats over, and Alex on her left, in the seat next to her.

Hank watched them both, thinking of how to start. "So I'd like to make this quick for both of our sake." The Danvers sisters nodded at the same time. "I just need to go over some basic questions, and make you sign some NDA."

"Okay," answered readily Kara. "Whatever you need." She had her hands on the table, and Alex had to resist the urge to reach out.

"Thank you for cooperating this fully Miss Danvers." Normally he wouldn't need to question people, or at least to  _really_ , because he could read their minds. He only asked questions to follow the procedure. Tonight though, he  _did_  have to, because he couldn't read Kryptonians' minds. It frustrated him, having gotten used to being able to do it. But it wasn't so bad, it gave him a little taste what it felt like to be human. A bitter taste, but still. "So, first, what is your relation with Alexandra Danvers ?"

Kara almost laughed at the quick grimace that made its way to Alex's face at the mention of her full name. Only Eliza called her "Alexandra" when she scolded her, so now she only answered to "Alex". "She's my sister. My  _adoptive_  sister," she specified, wanting to be thorough. She wanted to be precise, that's all. No other reason.

Alex shot her a quick glance, a bit surprised Kara made the distinction. They didn't have for a long time. Maybe Kara felt different after all. She filed it for later.

"Do you have any family ?" At the confused look of Kara, he clarified. "Birth family."

Alex turn her head fully to look at Kara, this time reaching out and squeezing her knee. Kara looked melancholic and a few years older every time she talked about her family. "Just my cousin. Superman," she answered truthfully.

Alex and Hank exchanged a look, before continuing. "Okay. When you arrived, how old were you ?"

"Thirteen," she instantly replied.

Hank made a noise of acknowledgment. "Do you know if your powers differ from Superman's since he arrived as a baby ?"

Kara tensed, not liking his curiosity about her powers. "I don't know." He raised an eyebrow, not really believing her. "I had to hide my nature for most of my life, therefore hide my powers. I tried to getting used to them. I mean, I got used to them so I could control them, but I tried not to rely on them. If it felt too normal, I risked exposing myself, and risking my family. My  _Earth_ family," she explained. "So I don't know. Plus, I didn't really see my cousin that often, so we didn't have time to talk about it," she added.

For strangers, Kara sounded confident, her voice clear. But Alex knew better, and she heard the sadness and longing. _Damned, Kal-El. What a shitty family you make_. She put her right arm behind Kara's back, laying it on the back of Kara's chair so she could rub her back a little, giving her a little courage. Kara gave her a tight smile in gratitude.

Hank watched her for a second. "Okay. Last question. Would you ever turn your back on humanity, to join other aliens for example ?" he asked in a steady voice, like he didn't ask the most ridiculous question ever.

" _Never_   _!_ " she exclaimed, standing up in at the affront.

Alex followed her to put her hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down, giving Hank a dirty look.

"I needed to ask," he simply said, before getting up as well. "Alright, seems good to me," he declared, like it was no big deal. "Alex," he said, walking up to them and beginning to remove the handcuffs. He first turned off the Kryptonite and Kara sighed happily, giving him a grateful smile. "Take your- take Kara upstairs and ask Melany to give you the SK-2413 in triplicate. Have Kara read everything, or explain it to her, and sign it. I need it before you're both asleep," he said with a knowing look.

He fully removed the handcuffs and Kara rubbed her wrists. "Thank you," she simply said.

With nothing further to add, Hank nodded in their direction before leaving for his office.

"So, that went well," Kara said, breaking the silence.

Alex turned to look at her with a bewildered look. "It  _did_ ," she slowly said.

"What, you thought it wouldn't ?" she asked, curious. And anxious. If she thought so, why did she agree then ?

"No-I mean yeah, but well. It went really well, and it was over so quickly. It was the easiest interrogation I've ever seen," she explained.

Kara nodded, understanding Alex wasn't used to easy. "Well, good for us. Anyway, should we go get the forms ? You can explain it on the way so I don't have to read it," she said with a grin.

Alex huffed, shaking her head. "Excuse me, who has super-speed and super-intelligence again ?", she asked while walking to exit the room.

"I  _don't_  have super-intelligence Alex, you know that. Kal-El doesn't. I just- learned some stuff on Krypton. It's nothing big. And it certainly doesn't help my day to day life," she added, looking thoughtful.

At that, Alex paused, Kara almost bumping into her sister. "What do you mean ?"

Kara just shrugged. "Nothing. Just- I know some stuff I'm not supposed to know because I don't have the degrees or certificates to go with my knowledge." Alex was looking at her with wide eyes, not believing she didn't think of this before. How could she have missed this ? Kara shrugged again, trying to appease the growing panic and guilt she could see growing in Alex. "I just have to be careful, that's all. I slip sometimes, but I always say I read something on Wikipedia and that I don't even know if it's true or not." She snorted. "Once, I almost told Winn he made a mistake in his code, but the look he gave me almost scared me." She fully laughed now. "You should have seen h-his face, I thought his eyes were going to pop out," she continued, making a plop sound to illustrate her story. "The good thing is, his look made me realize what I was doing and I told him my cousin showed me "some computer stuff" a while ago.  _Right_  !"

Her laugh turned into a chuckle, and finally looked at her sister, realizing she wasn't laughing. She was pursing her lips.  _It can't be good_. She frowned. "What ? It was funny !"

"Why did you never told me ?" she asked sadly.

Kara saw her pained expression, and understood. "Hey, no, none of that. Alex, no guilt trip, okay ? We had enough for one-or two life times. I didn't tell you because it's no big deal, and I don't want to burden you with yet another thing, just because I'm an alien. We get to be normal sometimes, I want to keep having these moments, that's all."

Alex was going to say something, but stopped, then said "We'll table it for now. I do understand Kara. But I don't think you're right. We'll talk about it later.  _Tomorrow."_

Kara just nodded, at least happy Alex knew. And happy they were closer to being asleep.  _Sleeping, such a beautiful concept_.

They walked up the stairs to go see Melany, Alex explaining quickly what the NDA included to Kara, and asked for the forms once they reached the administration office. Kara super-sped the signing process, not wanting to keep her temporary bed waiting.

Finally,  _finally_ , they made their way down to the on-call rooms, Alex choosing an empty one and locking behind themselves. There always was a couple of spare uniforms, or more like sweat pants and comfy sweater. They quickly changed and climbed in a bed together. They didn't even try to sleep alone. It was already difficult enough on a normal night, but tonight they just needed to feel each other, to feel they were okay, alive. Free.

They got settled, Alex spooning Kara, as always. And just before falling asleep, they murmured "I love you" at the same time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realised I was trying to make "short" chapters, so I didn't write everything I wanted to like an intelligent person, I don't even know why. So this one is a little longer because I didn't restrained myself. I hope you enjoyed !


	7. Revelations in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff alert  
> They talk about everything, trying to lay it out in the open. No more secrets. No more lies. Only love.  
> It's bound to bring them even closer, but... to what extent ?

They were in each other's arms on the bed, eyes closed, room quiet in the dark. Kara had her back against Alex's front, Alex spooning her, in the exact same position they fell asleep in. She knew Alex was awake because her breathing was faster than when she was asleep. Same with her heartbeat.

"Alex ?" she asked tentatively.

Alex hummed in question, too comfortable to speak.

"Why did you apologize to me ?"

She mumbled something, Kara only hearing it because she was Kryptonian. "I  _mean_ , on the plane, I-I heard you. You kept apologizing to me, even though you were about to die." She paused after feeling Alex tense around her. "Why ?" she asked again, softly.

That was a question she wanted to ask since she heard Alex on the plane. It was a curious thing, apologizing for something that wasn't your fault. And in this case, it definitively wasn't Alex's fault.  
The tension was palpable in the dark, and Kara was scared Alex was hiding something. Again.  _I can only take this much betrayal_.

She took her time, thinking about how to put it. After deliberating for a few moments, she decided to go with the truth. Kara heard a sharp inhale before Alex started talking. "Because... I was hiding so much from you. My line of work is... Dangerous." Kara held Alex's arms around her waist tighter at the reminder. "And I thought I was going to die before I could tell you the truth."

There was a pause, and even in the dark, back turned to Alex, Kara could feel there was more. "That's not everything, is it ?" she asked after the pause continued for too long.

Alex gulped, her mouth suddenly dry. She wasn't sure she was ready for  _this_  conversation, but Kara asked. So she had to answer, even if it was difficult for both of them. "Kara, you- you know you have powers here." Kara frowned, not following. She just waited for Alex to speak again. "And..." she sighed, frustrated for not being able to find the words.

"Alex, whatever it is, you can tell me. I can take it. Is it... Bad ?" she asked, slightly afraid of her answer.

"No, Kara," Alex replied hurriedly. "I mean- I'm not hiding something else from you, okay ?" she assured, planting a kiss on Kara's head. "I swear. It's just-  _God_ , we both know you lost so much already." Kara looked down at their intertwined arms and hands. "And I felt  _so bad_  for leaving you alone. I mean, I know you're not alone, you have Kal-El, and Winn," she said the last name through gritted teeth, not having forgiving him yet. "And with you personality, I know you can have as many friends as you'd like, if you'd just let yourself. But I-I just..." she sniffed, the emotion getting too much. "I didn't want you to think I abandoned you," she finally admitted.

It wasn't a secret Kara had abandonment issues. With her entire family dying, then her cousin abandoning her to strangers, and having her foster father die _because_  of her. It was a lot, especially for a fourteen years old. And Kara didn't have the possibility to talk about it with a therapist due to her being an alien. Aliens were not common yet, so specialists didn't exist for them.

Alex's breathing was getting shallower and Kara felt her shaking. She untangled their arms and turned around to face Alex, putting her hands on Alex's cheeks and her forehead against hers, just like she did in the dark alley. "I know you wouldn't abandon me Alex. You know I know that, right ?" she asked rhetorically. "My parents sent me away, they didn't just die, leaving me alone. Kal-El left me with complete strangers just after having lost everything. You're my only constant Alex. And I know you," she kept talking, softly, trying to calm her down.

Alex closed her eyes, trying to get her emotions and breathing under control, but it was difficult when Kara was saying all these things. How could she have lucked out and ended up with this perfect being ? She certainly didn't deserve her, but no one did. She sniffed again loudly, and hesitantly said, "Kara, I know we never talked about it, but... Because of your powers, you-you do know you're going to outlive me, right ?" After everything that happened, she had to lay it out in the open, once and for all. No more secrets, no more unsaid things.

Kara's hands stilled on her cheeks as Alex opened her eyes, and saw the anguish and pain in Kara's eyes. Of course she knew. They saw how Kal-El still looked twenty-five when he was actually closer to forty. That's why he moved from Smallville, not being able to hide his age. Kryptonians had powers under the yellow sun. It also gave them resistant skin, and regenerative cells. It wasn't a surprise they didn't age as fast as humans. 

It was Kara's turn to close her eyes as she took a shaky breath. "I  _know_  Alex, you think I don't ? I'm not stupid," she snapped. She instantly regretted it. "S-Sorry, it's just not- Can we not talk about it ? Like, ever ?" she asked, sadly looking Alex in the eyes.

"We won't talk about it. For  _now_. But we have to, if we want to come to terms with it. We can't live with the sword of Damocles hanging above our heads," she answered softly. Today was a time for honesty, even it meant talking about hard things and not immediately agreeing with whatever Kara asked. She kissed Kara's forehand before rubbing her arm up and down.

"Right," whispered Kara. "You don't want to leave me alone, but you risk your life everyday."

Alex straightens at that. "Kara, I'm doing this for  _you_  !" she defended.

Sitting, Kara was clearly getting worked up. "Gee, thanks Alex !" she answered sarcastically. "I don't  _want_  you to," she continued, more seriously.

"Well, what about what  _I_  want then ?" Alex exploded suddenly. "What did you feel when I was in that plane Kara ? Because I'm ready to bet anything that's what I'd feel if you we-were in danger. And I-I'd die if-if something ha-happened to you," she finished, sobbing.

Kara didn't feel angry anymore, just guilty to have made Alex cry. Alex was also in a sitting position, back to the wall, knees against her chest and head buried in her arms around her legs, shoulders shaking. Kara positioned herself next to Alex, taking her in her arms and putting her head against her chest, putting her own head on top of Alex's. She gently stroke her cheek with her left hand, her right one rubbing Alex's right arm. "I'm sorry, but I'm here, I'm okay." She paused. "You're protecting me, just like you said. I don't like it, but you're doing it. You did it. I'm safe," she whispered.

Alex had her left ear pressed against Kara's chest, hearing her heart so clearly. And now, it was beating faster than normal. Of course, she wasn't surprised because of all the emotional talk they were having. Just after waking up.  _Ugh_.

She felt her own heartbeat slowing, trying to breath at the same time as Kara, easily following Kara's chest rising and falling. "I'm sorry about everything".

Contrary to popular belief, Alex didn't have an easy childhood. People thought so because she was so close with her sister, and had an okay relationship with her mother. And after all, plenty of people had only one parent.  
But what they didn't know was that Kara was an alien, and her well-being was entrusted to her very young by her mother. Said mother that was never happy with anything she'd do. If Kara had a mishap at school, it was Alex's fault for not being close enough to watch her.  _Sure, because being in class wasn't a good enough excuse_. She also lost her father because, one night, she decided to go flying with her sister.  _Then_ , trying to protect said sister, she took a job at a secret government agency hunting aliens, thus lying to Kara the whole time.

So Alex wasn't a stranger to guilt. In fact, she wasn't sure she ever lived without feeling it rooted deep inside of her. To be honest, it was exhausting.  
Also, knowing she was too close to Kara for it to be healthy didn't help. Because of her selfishness, Kara couldn't go out and make friends and have a real life of her own. Instead, she spent every waking moment with Alex. She knew it worked well for Kara, because Kara loved her and she knew her powers, so she could be herself. Plus, she didn't have to go out and be out of her comfort zone with Alex. But Alex still thought she deprived her sister of a real life. But she still couldn't stop.

And now, it all came down pouring out. She felt so bare, having her emotions exposed like this, but even then she didn't mind. Not if she was with Kara. Sweet Kara who would never judge her, she always felt so safe with her even if she did the protecting most of the time.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Al," Kara said softly, startling Alex. Feeling Alex's disbelief, she continued. "I know you're feeling guilty... For a lot of things. I'm saying it doesn't matter, because you were only protecting me. How could that be wrong ?" Knowing Alex so well, her thought immediately went to Eliza. "And Alex, you know your mother's wrong, right ?" she asked gently, gentler than she deserved she thought.

"She's not wrong about everything Kara," Alex replied, tense. She knew her mistakes and owned them.

Kara just kissed Alex's hair. "I know you believe she has that right to make you feel..." She paused, inhaling, gathering strength to stay calm. "She can't make you feel this  _bad_  Alex, even if she's your mom. It's not  _right_. Don't think I haven't noticed, I just- I didn't think it was my place to say something. Especially because 90% of the time it's about me. But if we have to talk about the hard truth then I'm not going to stay silent anymore. You're protecting me everyday, I just want to do the same, in any small way I can."

Alex removed her head from Kara's chest and put her left cheek on Kara's right shoulder instead. She took Kara's left hand that fell from her cheek when she moved her head, and held it with her left hand. "Logically, I know that. She just- I can't stop feeling so... Inadequate with her. I'm never good enough, no matter what I do. And it's not your role to  _protect_  me from my mom. I should be able to do it myself."

"It doesn't mean you have to, Alex," she said, squeezing Alex's hand. "It may not be my role, but it doesn't matter. It's selfish of me then, because I can't stand to look at her being...  _mean_  to you".

"She's not  _mean,_ " Alex huffed. "She just has high standards."

Kara's right hand gently stroke Alex's hair. "Whatever you say. Meanwhile, she never demeaned  _me_. And before you say anything, that's exactly what she's doing to you. It's not meant to be mean, because she's a good and kind person. But I don't think she really knows how to be different with you. And it certainly doesn't mean you deserve it. If anything,  _she_  should feel guilty," she ended vehemently.

Next to her, Alex stopped breathing, shocked by the bitterness in Kara's voice. "Wow," she muttered. "You certainly held on to  _that_  one for a long time, huh ?" She put their intertwined hands on Kara's heart, trying to appease her somehow.

Kara didn't bother answering, just grunted. She didn't want to get angry again when she could enjoy Alex's close proximity.  _Rao_ , she shouldn't have thought about their closeness right now. She felt the tip of her ears starting to burn and quickly looked away. What was happening to her,  _that_  was clearly not normal. She couldn't understand this sudden... Change of heart.

She felt Kara's heartbeat getting faster under their hands and raised her head to look at Kara, but saw her with her head turned towards the opposite direction. She tugged at Kara's hair to get her attention. "Kar, what is it ?"

"Nothing," she mumbled back. "I'm just- trying to keep calm," she lied. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, because she  _was_  trying to keep calm, but for a different reason.

"Hey, it's okay," she softly said, putting her right hand on Kara's opposite cheek to make her look at her. "I'm over it. Mostly. It's a work in progress, but that's okay.  _Okay_  ?" she insisted.

Kara was staring at her lips now.  _What was wrong with her ?_  She snapped her eyes upwards, head thudding against the wall. "Okay !" feigning annoyance. She took a deep breath, and smirked as she looked at Alex again. "I guess my super-brain can handle that," she teased.

Alex narrowed her eyes. "Yeah-" she drawled out. "About that."

Kara frowned.  _What now ?_  "What about it ?" she asked, fidgeting with the end of her sleeve.

She was still squinting, suspicious. "You say you know a bunch of stuff you're not supposed to. Care to enlighten me ?"

Kara relaxed, that was an easy subject. "Oh, it's just the studies were a little more...  _advanced_. So, you know. I'm just ahead in a bunch of subjects."

"Like what ?" Alex asked, obviously curious.

"Well, I guess history doesn't matter now," she began, smiling self-deprecatingly. "I'm really good at math here, and most of the science on Earth is actually really easy, and I wasn't one of the best. What else..." she bit the inside of her cheek, thinking about it. "I guess that's about it, but being bio-engineered gave me quite a head start on pretty much everything. That's why I paint pretty well and I learned English quickly. I'm not talented or really smart, I was just made that way."

"Mmh," is all Alex answered, clearly lost in thought.

" _What ?"_  asked Kara, frustrated by the lack of participation from Alex.

She looked up to look Kara in the eyes, searching. "Just- I thought about when we were young, you know. You never understood what I told you whenever I spoke about science. So I just stopped after a while, even if you seemed to enjoy when I tried to explain it to you." she recalled thoughtfully. "Did your brain need more time under the sun to fully develop here ?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Kara flushed bright red, recalling this little  _detail_.  _Dang, I let my guard down_. "We-Well, n-no, not, I mean- I don't really-" she stammered, chuckling nervously. She wouldn't have had a problem admitting the truth before. Before last night. She didn't know why, but now it felt like  _more_ , like it wasn't appropriate anymore. "Y-Yeah, maybe you kn-know, I'm not su-sure," she answered lamely.

Alex became suspicious again, now with good reason. " _Kara_."

That was enough. "Okay, yeah, I mean-you were  _not_  nice at first Alex, and I just- I wanted you to like me. So I let you tell me about all your science projects and you seemed so proud, I thought it was a good approach." Seeing her pained look, she quickly added with a smile, softer, "But then, I saw how happy you looked when you explained things to me, happy to teach me something you actually easily could. Not like Earth customs or difficult stuff, just what you were passionate about. And it made me happy too," she closed her eyes, smiling at the memory. "But I think I screw up along the way because you stopped," she chuckled sadly.

Opening her eyes, she felt her heart not skip a beat, but  _multiple_. Alex was also full on blushing now, making Kara blush  _again_  when she had it finally under control. "O-Oh." Alex Danvers didn't stammer. But she did right then. "W-Well, I was scared I sounded patronizing always explaining everything like that, that's why I stopped."

To stop herself from staring  _again,_ she quickly diverted her look and tried to change the subject. "Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. So... Your rooms are cool here. And you even have spare change, that's nice. Handy.  _Noice_." Kara internally face palmed.

Alex snorted. " _Dork,_ " she chuckled. "But seriously Kara, I don't want you to hide," she added.

"I'm not--"

"You kinda are," Alex cut her off. She gently punched Kara in the shoulder. Gently, not for Kara, but for her own hand. Making the mistake to put force behind the punch once was enough. "And you know, you talked about having normal moments together- but being normal means being ourselves, not being like everyone else. And I want you to be normal with me, meaning no hiding super-intelligence -  _Yes, I_  am _calling it that_  - and being honest with each other." She gently put her hand on top of Kara's, trying to make Kara feel her honesty. "Kara, please. I just want you to be free- to be happy. I'm just trying to make that easier when you're around me."

Cheeks pink, Kara looked at Alex shyly. "I'm always happy with you Alex," she said with such a softness and truthfulness that Alex's breath hitched. "But I promise I'll try to be more... Honest. Even though I'm always honest with you, you know," she added with a gentle smile.

Alex's heart skipped a beat and she paused.  _That was weird, what was her heart's problem ?_  She quickly regained her composure. "Yeah, I know. Me too Kara. I mean, except for the DEO stuff..."

"No kidding," Kara teased with a grin. She bumped Alex's shoulder with her own, playful.

Alex grinned back and just let her head fall on Kara's shoulder, somehow still tired even with a long night sleep. She sighed contentedly. Kara just laid her head on top of Alex's, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment.

With no more secrets between them, they both felt closer. They didn't think it was possible, being impossibly close already before, but they somehow managed. And they were happy about it, not having to tell other to know the other also felt happy about this new found closeness.

There was still something not said between them, though it wasn't to hide it but because they didn't know what it was.  _Yet._

They both felt this new pull to each other not knowing what it meant. Like their closeness, they didn't think it was possible wanting to spend even more time together than before. It'd be fine, but not knowing if the other felt the same proved to be scary as  _heck_.

Though Kara was closer to finding out what these feelings meant, she was even farther to handle it than Alex. Being socially awkward didn't help figuring out her feelings either.

Alex was most likely to take more time to realize her feelings, but she'd need less time to figure out to do about it. 

Their future sure was getting interesting.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still having trouble advancing in the story because I spend so much time on their feelings. I'm torn because I like when writers focus on people feelings (especially Kalex fics !), but I know people tend to prefer when the story has a quicker pace.  
> But I think that's fine for this one because it's focused entirely on their relationship.  
> When/if I do another Kalex story with a better background story, I'll try to quicken the pace if you'd like :)
> 
> Anyway. Hope you enjoyed this chapter !
> 
> And if you ever want to talk about it or about Kalex/Supergirl fics in general, you can email me at Clarapuce13@gmail.com :)


	8. Little clues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone leave clues behind. Be it terrorists about their latest attack or... People, about feelings. You just have to look for them.

Without realizing it, they dozed off again feeling lighter than ever after their deep conversation. So really, no one was surprised when Kara flew into the wall across from them when an agent suddenly opened the door. Well. Alex wasn't.

She simply sit up and rubbed her eyes. "What is it ?" she asked with a croaky voice. 

The agent just stared wide eyed as Kara grumbled, trying to step out of the hole she made without making the whole wall collapse. "Hum- I-" He shook his head, trying to focus. "Agent Danvers, Director Henshaw would like to see you." He paused, looking briefly at Kara. "Both of you."

"Fine, we're coming. Just give us a minute."

With a nod, the agent left, carefully closing the door behind him.

With a yawn, Alex glanced at her sister and snorted as she watched Kara trying to dust herself off. She was covered in dusty white powder, looking obviously annoyed with the situation. "It's not funny Alex," she said, not even looking up.

With an eye roll, Alex got up, stretched up, and made her way to Kara. With a soft smile, she started helping her, removing little bits of the drywall from her hair. "What's got you so grumpy ?" she joked.

Kara huffed. "I didn't have an incident in years. I'm mad this-this  _agent_  broke my winning streak." She looked up to see Alex watching her unimpressed. " _Okay,_ maybe not years. I mean, I have some... accidents, but nothing too obvious or this big," she pouted as she looked down at herself again. It wasn't easy to remove the white dust off the black shirt and sweat pants.

"It's fine Kara," sighed Alex. "It was out of the blue after a difficult day. You can't expect to always have a hold on your powers, especially when you're asleep." Alex countered.

Kara stopped trying to dust herself off and looked at Alex. "Yeah, I guess. It's still frustrating though."

"I know," Alex grinned. She removed the last piece of drywall from Kara's hair and took her hand. "Come on. It's no use trying to get yourself presentable, you won't be able to remove all the white dust off dark clothes," she said while turning away to go see Henshaw. She started tugging on her hand but Kara didn't move. She turned around with a questioning look before seeing Kara with a mischievous grin. "Wha-" 

In less than a second, Kara was hugging her while laughing loudly. "If I'm all dirty from this wall, you'll be too !"

"You're diabolical" Alex groaned, but with a playful glint in her eyes. She wanted to retaliate but Kara had her in a tight hug, not allowing any movement.

"Right ?" Kara laughed while rubbing her face anywhere she could reach, Alex's hair, her shoulder, her neck. The last one had her shiver for some unknown reason and she felt like she had to take a step back from the situation, from Kara.  _Weird_. Kara felt her sister tensing so she lessened her hold to look at her. "Alex ?" she asked uncertainly.

Alex looked towards the door. "Sorry, I'm a bit tense still. And Henshaw called for us, meaning he should have some new information about the plane."

Kara tensed too, Alex could feel her tightening her hold again, before letting go. With a determined look on her face, she nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Let's go see what they found."

Internally sighing with relief, Alex nodded too and they left the room, white dust and drywall still everywhere. They marched down the hallway until they reached the big hall with all the monitors. They joined Director Henshaw, standing behind agent Vasquez who was typing on her computer and speaking to each other in low voices.

As they approached, Henshaw turned his head just a bit to acknowledge their arrival before looking back at Vasquez's computer. "Nice of you to join us agent Danvers. Miss Danvers," he greeted.

"Sir", Alex said with squared shoulders and hands behind her back.

Kara shifted nervously next to Alex, not knowing how to behave in this environment. She cleared her throat before awkwardly saying "Hello" a little too loudly. She winced and saw from the corner of her eye Alex trying to hide a smile. She stomped on her feet,  _gently_.

Alex shot her a dirty look before returning her attention to her director. "Sir, did you find something about the attack ?"

He turned to them before nodding. "Whoever did this, they're careless. Plus, having your... sister gently put down the plane instead of it crashing help us greatly." Kara tensed automatically at the pause before 'sister'. He looked at Kara. "Thank you Miss Danvers. We wouldn't have made this much progress in this little time without you."

Kara froze under the praise, and her cheeks became slowly redder by the second. "We-Well, it's, you know-" she scoffed nervously, gesturing it was no big deal with her hand. She glanced at Alex, who nodded encouragingly with a small smirk. "Hum, it was my pleasure."

Henshaw just kept looking at her for a few seconds,  _and was it a ghost of a smile ?_  , and began walking away. "We did a little digging, and our friends left quite the souvenir," he said over his shoulders.

Kara and Alex glanced at each other before following him. They walked down some dark hallways and Kara was completely lost. "You think I'll ever find the exit if you leave me here alone ?" she whispered to Alex.

Alex quickly put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. "I think you won't be lost long Kara." She paused, making Kara think it was a compliment. "After a while, either the rumbling of your stomach will alert everyone that you're lost, or you'll sprint through every wall in here to get some food." As Kara watched her incredulously, she kept whispering. "You know, even when you just woke up, you can form a Kara shaped hole in a wall, so I'm confident you could hole you way out, don't worry."

Kara just squinted, as if trying to laser-vision Alex. At Alex's raised eyebrow, she just turned to look ahead and crossed her arms, obviously pouting. Henshaw just turned into a room and Alex nudged her sister to get her to be serious. They were about to find out what the DEO discovered about the attack. Kara straightened her back, dropped her arms alongside of her body and gave Alex's hand a quick squeeze before taking a deep breath and walking inside the room.

There were a few tables in the middle of the room with agents standing above one of them, looking at something on the table. They seemed to keep their distance though, as if scared it might bite.  _Maybe it's an adorably bad kitten._

Upon Henshaw arrival, the agents looked up and backed away from the table. "Any progress ?" he asked.

One of the agent started talking. "No sir, we can't seem to really... Understand its origin. We know it's alien, but we don't know from where."

"We  _know_  what it is," another agent cut in, "but we're not sure how to open it."

"So you've got nothing," he sighed. He turned to face Alex and Kara. "Agent Danvers, Miss Danvers, you may be able to help us here."

Kara felt a weird buzzing, like an energy coming off the  _thing_  on the table she couldn't see. She didn't feel at ease and Alex felt it. She glanced at her sister to see her squirming next to her, looking worried. Alex furrowed her eyebrows and without her eyes leaving Kara, she asked "Sir, what it is ?"

Without missing a beat, Henshaw answered. "A bomb. Of alien origin apparently. That's what broke the plane's engines. It wasn't strong enough to make the whole thing explode, but we think it's because they wanted people to think it was an accident. A crash would have buried the evidence, but now..."

Kara's head snapped towards the Director, looking alarmed. "A  _bomb_  ?"

Alex was looking at her confused. She must have known it was something like that that caused the engine failure. "Kara, what-"

She looked at Kara, eyes widening in surprise as her sister pointed at her. " _You_ , you are  _not_  coming closer to that  _thing;_ " she spat. She continued talking before Alex could speak. "I'll take care of it. Alex, I'm bulletproof, nothing is going to happen, trust me."

Scoffing, she crossed her arms, shaking her head. "You cannot be serious. I'm a trained DEO agent, I-" she stopped talking as soon as she saw tears in Kara's eyes. "Kar..." she whispered.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Kara clenched her jaw, determined. "No", she croaked, "I am _not_  letting you get anywhere near danger again if I can help it," she said, her voice cracking.

Alex looked at Kara in the eyes for a few moments, seeing the sadness and the fear shining through unshed tears. "Okay," she said softly. "Okay. I'll just-I'll be right by the door, okay ? I'll be close, but not too close."

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Kara nodded then looked down at her hand when Alex tightened her hold. She didn't even noticed she grabbed Alex's hand in her panic. She gave Alex a small smile before taking a breath and turning to face the director.

"Director Henshaw, I'll take a look at your bomb," she declared.

"Be my guest."

Glancing at Alex over her shoulder, she lifted an eyebrow as she waited for her sister to step back to the door. With a resigned sigh, Alex slowly took a few steps back, stopping only when her back touched the wall.

Kara turned her back to her, and moved towards the bomb. The buzzing she felt earlier was getting stronger as she came closer to the source. "I feel a buzzing coming from the bomb," she said to the room, in case the information was useful.

Alex stiffened but stayed at her place. "What do you mean ?"

"I-I'm not sure. Like I can feel its energy. Maybe because I'm also not from Earth," she said uncertainly. "The closer I get, the more I can feel it." She paused, not reaching the table yet, and turned to Alex. "I don't like this. I feel like it's not going to end well." Looking into Alex's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, she took a decision. "I want everyone out of here." When everyone started protesting, she raised a hand. "It's just a precaution, I have a bad feeling. You can stay in the hallway to supervise me."

They calmed down a little, with a little exception. Alex was looking at her with anger and betrayal. "What the  _hell,_  you think I'll let you touch that when you just told us you could feel its energy ? Not a chance !" her voice quivering a little, fists tight at her side.

"Enough." Henshaw's voice resounded clearly in the room. Everyone fell silent, even Alex. "Agent Danvers, I understand your worry, but this is bigger than all of us. We are here to protect this planet, and trying to kill one of us is a crime." Alex was looking straight ahead, clenching her jaw to stop herself from talking back. "Miss Danvers may be our only chance to figure out how this works. Without her, we could lose precious time and, next time, they may achieve their goal," he finished somberly.

Alex knew her director was right, but Kara's safety was the most important thing here.

She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the knot she felt in her throat. "Sir, this is my family we're talking about, she's-"

"A civilian, who willingly offered her help. I'm not going to refuse the help of an alien, not when the bomb is not from this earth."

Kara was watching the interaction while holding her breath, waiting for the final decision. She didn't want her sister to risk her job to try to protect her. She was  _bulletproof_ , that had to count for something.

Before Alex could answer, she super-sped in front of her and held her shoulders. "Alex, it's fine. I'll be careful, okay ? As much as you don't want to lose me, I don't want to lose you. I want to see you again, always," she whispered softly. They became more candid since last night, but she didn't want everyone to hear what she wanted to say.

Alex gripped Kara's arms tightly, almost trembling. "I want to see you again too," she whispered back. It was like a mantra they said to each other when they wanted the other to know how much they loved the other. After so much loss in their life, especially in Kara's, it isn't always obvious that people will stay. It was as much a statement as it was a promise, a promise to do everything to see the other again.

Kara could see so many emotions in Alex at this moment, and suddenly it was too much. She couldn't keep looking into her eyes because she also felt too much. After a final squeeze on her shoulders, Kara let go and Alex reluctantly did the same. She saw a change in Kara's eyes just before she diverted her eyes, but she didn't have time to think about it.

Under Henshaw's gaze, Alex slowly left the room, but stayed in the hallway where she could see Kara and the bomb. "Recipe for disaster if you ask me, _"_ she grumbled under her breath and Henshaw shot her a dirty look while she saw Kara look at her with a glare.

Kara turned her back to the agents and Alex, and walked over the dangerous weapon. The buzzing intensified as she approached and she felt uneasy, but she had to take a look. For Alex. Once standing above it, she bent down a little to take a closer look. It was squared shaped, all white and round edges.  _Very modern_. You wouldn't guess it was dangerous looking at it, but she could feel it. Although she could feel its danger, she felt kind of drawn to it.

She hesitantly reached out with her hand, pausing just a millimeter from the bomb. She attentively touched it, and the buzzing stopped. There was a second of silence, then a blinding white light, and everything stopped.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeaaah, so I get sucked into the plot and I can't do anything to stop it, sorry for people who thought it would be light. I thought that too  
> But I hope you still liked it !  
> Tell me what you thought :)


	9. The aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, what the actual heck happened with this mysterious bomb ?

The ringing in her ears was so loud she couldn't hear anything else. Which was rare considering she usually could hear every little noise in the neighborhood. She felt herself coughing but couldn't feel anything else, and her vision was so blurry she could hardly make out shapes.

Blinking a few times to try to see more clearly, she began regaining feelings in her body and realized her throat burned for some reason. She was really disoriented and could only cough some more, feeling too dizzy to stand up. She laid on her side to breath more easily, palpating her neck to try and feel if there was something wrong with it. Feeling nothing but smooth skin, she tried to move but felt herself unable to do so.

Still confused, she waited for her vision to clear. After a moment, she could somewhat see and realized she was facing Alex.  _Alex ?_  Alex's mouth was moving, but all she could hear was the loud ringing. She shook her head a little, closing her eyes at to movement, then indicated her ears, telling Alex she couldn't hear her.  
Alex furrowed her eyebrows even more and nodded her understanding. She mouthed simple words to reassure Kara,  _"You're okay," "I'm okay,"_  while gently rubbing her arm.

After a few minutes, the ringing lessened and Kara could hear again. She tried to speak but she was wheezing, so she slowly sat up with Alex's help and looked around. It was chaos. There were holes in the walls, the tables apparently vanished and everything was covered in thick black dust. Still confused about everything, she didn't realize she was in the hallway facing the room.  _What was she doing outside if she couldn't even move ?_

She coughed a few times, just enough to be able to speak. "What happened ?" she croaked. She could see the unshed tears in Alex's eyes.

"You-" she started hoarsely as if she has been screaming. She cleared her throat and tried again. "There was an explosion. I-we don't know what happened exactly, one second it was fine, then the next... I-I'm not sure, there was a bright light, I couldn't see, and suddenly I was thrown against the wall behind me, I think it was you. A-and seeing as I don't have any broken ribs, I don't think you were- I mean, I think you just reacted and... Protected me," she shakily exhaled with a smile of gratitude.

Kara closed her eyes, trying to make sense of it all. She focused, trying to remember what happened. After a few seconds, she started remembering. After the bright light, she was so scared about what might happen to Alex that she didn't even think, she just super-sped to her and tried to cover all her body with her own. She was there just in time too, because less than a second later, the explosion destroyed everything around, resounding loudly in the hallway.

She inhaled sharply, suddenly very worried about Alex. She burst her eyes open and grabbed her by the arms, trying to spot any wound she might have caused. "Did-Did I hurt you ?" she asked, fear evident in her voice. "I remember, I super-sped to you and tried to protect you, b-but with my speed- I didn't th- _think_  Alex !" she said completely panicked, trying to scan Alex's body with her x-ray vision but still having trouble seeing clearly and breathing.

Alex stopped her movements by taking her hands and lowered her head to catch Kara's eyes with her own. "Kara," she said softly. "I'm fine. A little sore, but better than if I hadn't been protected by a super alien," she declared clearly with a soft smile. "You saved me.  _Again._ "

With a disbelieving look, she scoffed. "Saved you ? I endangered  _everyone_ by-by touching the-" she stopped abruptly, looking at the room, frozen. "Where is it ? Is everyone okay ?" She was so focused on Alex that she forgot about anyone else. She felt shame and guilt twist her stomach.

Following her gaze, she quickly caught on. "The bomb is still here, looking as new and shiny as ever. Didn't even move really, except for the fact that it's on the floor now. And everyone is basically okay, save for a few who were knocked out but nothing serious."

Kara felt relief flood her but shook her head with her eyes closed, confused. "I don't understand. Why did it detonate at my touch ? And why am I... hurting ? I feel  _awful,_ " she declared while scrunching her noise in obvious distaste about her new situation. 

Alex looked apologetically at Kara before explaining. "Well, I think it's because it was of alien origin. You're not badly hurt, mostly disoriented, because you're Kryptonian." Looking around her, seeing the agents coughing but getting up as they helped each other, she sighed, relieved. Everyone was fine because Kara made them leave the room, and only Alex was directly in front of the entrance, wanting to see how Kara was progressing with the bomb. She was lucky to be in one piece really.

Director Henshaw was already back in the room after making sure everyone was okay, crouched 4 feet away, inspecting the bomb himself. He couldn't feel the buzzing from the weapon, but maybe his psychic powers were protecting him without his knowledge. He internally kicked himself for putting his agents and a civilian in danger, just because he didn't feel its energy due to his origin. Not wanting to cause another explosion, he stood up and turned around to make his way back to the sisters.

He stopped by the door, taking the scene in front of him. Kara was sitting against the wall, facing the room, and Alex was on her right, her left arm around her shoulders, slowly rubbing Kara’s shoulder. She was holding Kara’s hands with her right one, laying on Kara’s lap, squeezing lightly every now and then to keep her awake and focused.

The scene in itself wasn’t odd for two sisters, but Alex’s thoughts…  _That was new._ It wasn’t a declaration of love repeating itself on a loop, but rather a general warmth and fierce protectiveness directed towards Kara, and Kara only. Kara, who occupied 80% of Alex’s thoughts, the rest being busy worrying about the last two days’ events. It has always been there of course, but it got stronger now. More noticeable, psychic powers or not.  
He couldn't read Kara's thoughts though, because she was Kryptonian, and he didn't know her well enough to try and guess how she felt about Alex. But he could easily guess that, whatever happened, they'll always be there for each other, not matter what.

"I never felt so lucky to be Kryptonian," Kara murmured. "Well, except when I saved your plane," she said looking at Alex with a small smile.

Melting inside, Alex returned the smile with a light squeeze around Kara's hands. "We should get you to the med bay and lay you down under the sun lamps."

Kara's eyebrows shot up, surprised. "Sun lamps ?"

Alex diverted her eyes, looking at their joined hands. "Yeah, I studied the notes my parents made of Kal-El. I mean, we already knew your powers came from the sun." A shrug. "We just worked on it for a while and I-we think it works."

Kara opened her mouth to speak, not quite sure what to say, but Henshaw beat her to it. "What Agent Danvers is trying to say, Miss Danvers, is that she spent nearly a year working on it, and  _she_  made it work. We didn't have a Kryptonian on hand to test it, but I trust that she did an impeccable job, as always," he said while walking to them, stopping a few feet away, hands on his hips.

Kara haven't seen Alex blush this hard for a long time. Alex gulped and lowered her head to hide her blush, but it was too late. She heard a light chuckle coming from Kara, and looked up, ready to tell her to stop teasing her. But she only saw Kara with a fond smile, and her eyes just... Full of love. The blush deepened and she cleared her throat to diffuse some of the tension between her and Kara. Well,  _she_  felt the tension, but Kara wouldn't. Probably. She didn't even know  _why_  she felt this tension.

She felt a light squeeze around her hand, startling her out of her daze. "Thank you," simply murmured Kara, voice soft.

Alex just smirked, the one reserved for Kara when she felt a little shy about something. "Come on, time to recover under the sun lamps," she announced.

Feeling really sore when trying to stand up, she put her hands on her knees to make it easier. Once relatively stable, she extended her hand to Kara, helping her next. Kara groaned and faltered before Alex stabilized her by putting her arm around her waist.

"Well that's brutal. Feeling sucks," Kara declared. Seeing Alex's worried look, she gave her a lopsided smile. "It's fine Alex, just a little light headed and my muscles are...  _aching_  ? I think that's what it is. But nothing bad, I'm just not used to it."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Alex took the decision to put Kara's arm around her neck, holding this hand with her own to help her walk, Kara's height making it a little easier. Her other arm was around Kara's waist to keep her from walking too much left.

"Do you need help or can I go start cleaning up ?"

Having forgotten anyone else around them, both sisters startled, heads shooting up to see Henshaw next to them, arms crossed and just a hint of a smile. "Ye-Yes Sir, I'll just go help Kara lay down in the med bay- if that's okay, Sir," Alex stammered.

Pausing before answering for effect, the Director eventually nodded. "Of course Agent Danvers, take care of Miss Danvers, she looks like she needs it."

Turning her head towards to opposite direction, Kara muttered a " _thanks"_  sarcastically, making Alex snort rather indelicately. She tried coughing to cover it up, but from the look of her Director, it didn't work.  _Time to escape_.

"Thank you sir, call me if you need help," she called loudly over her shoulder, dragging slowly Kara with her into the maze of hallways.

"Sorry," whispered Kara with a little grin, looking the opposite of apologetic.

"Sure you are," Alex huffed, still having her lips turning upwards without her permission. At least Kara was well enough to be a little shit.

They made their way up to the med bay, both aching everywhere once there. Stopping in front of the bed, Alex slowly removed Kara's arm from around her and let her lean against the metallic table which was against a big window next to the exit. In front of the table and Kara was a metallic bed with a sort of lid above it, very coffin like.

"That's reassuring," she mumbled.

Alex, who was connecting a bunch of wired around the coffin, asked without looking up, "What ?"

"If I lay on this... bed for too long, am I going to turn into a bat ?"

At that, Alex looked up and asked again, " _What ?"_. Feeling confused, she followed Kara's eyes and looked at the bed. Indeed, it was bare of any sheet and the sun lamps covered most of the surface with a space just wide enough to lay under them. But come on, it was... Not black. "Kara, I think the  _sun_  lamps defeat the whole purpose of a coffin."

As if Alex didn't say anything, she continued with her snarky comments. "I bet you don't push those out of the way. You have to lift them up, don't you ?"

Groaning, Alex linked multiple cables to a big machine, which turned on with an audible  _click_. "After the explosion, I forgot for a few moments that you sense of humor was awful. I was blissfully ignorant." She pushed some buttons and after a couple of seconds, the sun lamps roaring to life with a low humming sound, blinding them both while Alex tried to dim the intensity. Taking a deep breath, she turned around, facing Kara, feeling anxious. "There, everything's set. You, uh, we'll just try for an hour to begin with, see if it works."

"Hey," Kara called softly. "It'll work. And if, and that's a big if,  _if_  it doesn't work, then I'll just rest like a human. Like you will," she declared, leaving no room for arguing.

Alex rolled her eyes good-naturedly, deciding against telling Kara she had way worse over the years spent in the field. "Fine. But first, you get in there. And if you behave," she added with a smirk, "I might even get you some food." She left the part where the food from the DEO wasn't exactly gastronomy. It wasn't bad, it was... edible. She took what looked like a wristband and put it on around Kara's upper arm after pushing her sleeve back. It was linked to the big machine, which started to beep when Alex finished putting the wristband on Kara. It beeped a little faster than humans, but at a normal rate for Kara.

With everything going on, Kara actually forgot about food. Alex's words, however, woke up the monster hiding inside her stomach and he growled to life. " _Food !_  I haven't eaten since..." She paused, trying to remember. She chuckled, remembering her disastrous date and made a note to kill Winn. Remembering Winn made her think about CatCo, which made her think about... "CAT !" she gasped loudly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Kara forgot she had an actual job because of everything that happened... Knowing Cat, do you think she'll get fired ? They don't quite have the relationship they have on the show yet, so it's 50/50 to be honest.


	10. Resting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both sisters obviously need rest, but Alex's protectivness exceeds Kara's this time.

She gasped so loudly Alex actually jumped. "Cat ?" she wondered. "Miss Grant ? What does she have to do with f-"

But Kara didn't let her finish, didn't even listened to her. "Oh _my god._  Miss Grant ! I'm late ! I'm going to be fired ! What am I talking about, I'm already fired ! That's it, it's over, I'm fired and I'm going to live under a bridge somewhere and I'll have to-"

In her panic, Kara wasn't even hearing the loud beeping getting worryingly quicker, and suddenly felt herself being slightly shaken by Alex, grabbing her by the shoulders. She knew she had to get Kara to calm down quickly if she didn't want her to get into a full panic attack.   
She focused her eyes on Alex, feeling calmer already. Alex had a way with her, her presence or her heartbeat centering her when she felt lost. Alex was always there, no matter what, like a light in the dark.  _Gee, was she cheesy when it came to Alex._

Taking a breath to regulate her breathing, she looked Alex with a worried expression. "Alex, I didn't let Miss Grant know I wouldn't come to work today. What time is it ?"

As Alex was going to reach for her phone in her pocket, she saw Kara do the same, but glanced at the time anyway. 11h16.  _Uh oh_.

Kara hissed when she looked at the time but quickly stopped breathing when she saw all the notifications she had. Holding her breath as she read the texts, she slowly let it out.  _Winn is on his way to redemption_. However, when she reached the last text, she groaned.  _Or maybe not_.

As she waited patiently, Alex tried to read Kara's micro expressions. It wasn't hard after all the time they spent together, but Kara couldn't seem to keep one expression for long. Looking relieved, then a little smile -gratitude ?-, then the crinkle appeared only to leave its place for the full furrow of her eyebrows.  _Frustration_. It's not that she didn't care whether Kara still had her job or not, but she cared more about her well-being, and she just wanted her under the sun lamps. Deciding to hurry up the conversation a little, she asked "What ?"

"Well..." Kara paused, pursing her lips as if trying to think how to phrase what she wanted to say. "Winn- I told you he kinda convinced me to go on that date... Last night ? Was it last night ? Gosh, I feel like it was a lifetime ago," she shook her head, in disbelief at the events of the last two days. "Anyway, when I didn't show up this morning, he got worried at first, asking if I was alright. I  _was_  meeting a stranger after all, and he doesn't know I'm basically invincible." A pause. "From humans at least."

Alex sighed, Kara's rambles were normally cute, but now it only separated her from resting. "Kara, get to the point. Or tell me while laying on- in the coffin." She actually liked that joke, being even funnier because the bed was the further thing from a coffin, with the material and the  _sun lamps_ , but it was also true it reminded her of a casket. She decided to rename the bed from now on, even if Kara wouldn't have the use for it after today. After all, it was the last time she would get hurt.

Kara actually cracked a smile. "I knew you liked my jokes," she grinned. At Alex restless look, she huffed. "Fine. So, he was worried at first, but then he- he thought I-" she flushed bright red, looking away from Alex's brown eyes, and threw up her hands, flustered. "He thought I  _spent the night_  with the man," she rushed out, "so he said he covered for me and to- you know what, I'm not even going to say- I'll just punch him next time I see him." At Kara's admission, Alex's eyes grew wide, and she felt an uncomfortable weight pressing down her stomach and she felt her heart beat quicker. Luckily, Kara was so irritated she didn't notice the change. "Okay, not punch him, I do want him to live. I'll just push him with my pinkie finger, that should be gentle enough. I mean, it should hurt him enough. Maybe."

Turning her back to her sister, Alex feigned checking all the wires already perfectly plugged in so she could count to ten, slowly releasing her breath. Kara just stopped talking, obviously still embarrassed by Winn's wrong guess, and waited for Alex to say something, looking down at her wriggling hands. Once Alex was sure her voice would be stable enough, she turned around. "All I heard was that he covered for you, so you better get your butt on this bed", she said seriously, all patience and jokes seemingly forgotten. At Kara's dumbfounded look, she raised an eyebrow, challenging her sister to protest.

Kara sighed quietly with a resigned look, knowing Alex waited long enough for her to finally test the sun lamps, and that Cat Grant wasn't nearly as important as her health to Alex's eyes. "Fine," she said with a small smile, easing the tension.

"Wait," Alex said. Kara stopped by the bed, looking at Alex. "Are you hurt, like really ? No lying," she warned. "It doesn't do any of us any good, so just tell me."

"Honestly, I don't feel so bad." Seeing Alex still worried, she added "I promise. The worst pain I feel is on my ribs, but even I can tell it's not that bad," she said genuinely.

"Show me," said Alex sternly.

Kara pursed her lips to keep herself from sighing because she knew she would be worse if the roles were reversed. Though she knew Alex was giving everything she had to stay calm. For her. So she wordlessly lifted a side of her shirt, showing the slightly bruised ribs.  
Alex got closer, and bent down a little to take a closer look. She touched gently the area, testing the tenderness. Kara hissed at the contact, Alex's fingers were cold but she felt a warm sensation where she touched her. Alex eyes shot up to meet Kara's and quickly removed her hand.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly before straightening up. "Old habits." She cleared her throat while Kara tried to control the blushing she felt on her face, lowering her head as she put the shirt back down. "Well, it's a little bruised, but nothing bad, just like you said. In any case, I wouldn't be able to do anything, except give you medicine. But we all know how that'd go." They both chuckled at the memory of Kara testing a medicine for a headache and becoming immediately dozy to everybody's surprise. The drugs didn't treat her pain, but made her, well... Drugged. "Anyway, a few hours under the sun lamps should do it."

Standing next to the bed, Alex lifted the sun lamps up, allowing Kara to lay down, helping her with her other hand. Once Kara was laying down  _un_ comfortably, she lowered them again carefully, noting Kara's eyes tightly shut. Taking Kara's hand in her own, she gently rubbed it with her thumb. "Hey, you okay ?" she murmured.

With a mouth turned downside, Kara squinted at Alex. "Fine," she answered quietly, as if not wanting to disturb the silence only broken by the  _beeps_  of the machine. "Just a little bright is all," she lied. Not a total lie, it  _was_  blinding.

"Don't whine, I didn't get the chance to test it. Just- bear with it for a bit, it's only temporary." Alex then sighed with pursed lips, tightening her hold for a moment before letting go. She heard the beeping speed up as she moved away, proof that Kara lied and didn't want to be left on her own. She returned five seconds later with a chair, sitting comfortably before taking Kara's hand back in her own. "You won't be alone Kar, I'm not leaving your side."

Alex had the advantage of having spent most of her life by Kara's side, whether during good times, like when she discovered the wonders of Earth food, or bad times. Bad times being the nightmares, every night for the first few months of her arrival at the Danvers'. Alex knew them as well as Kara, having been by her side every single night -after getting over her hate for her new sister of course. So it wasn't difficult to guess what Kara felt, being in a confined space. Even if the sun lamps were a bright contrast in comparison to the deep dark space, she knew Kara was still having trouble with small spaces. Even elevators weren't her favorite way to go all the way up to CatCo last floor, she still speeding up the stairs when she could, having checked there were no cameras beforehand.

Having gotten used to every trauma Kara still suffered, there was no pity in her eyes, only understanding and love, and Kara couldn't resist the grateful smile she felt showing on her face.

Wanting to lighten things up a bit after all they've been through, Alex tried to make Kara laugh. Or at least smile, a real one. "If it's too much, I can get you those big sunglasses people wear after eye surgery," she joked.

Eyes still closed, Kara snorted and tried to compress her smile. "You should know I won't refuse if you offer seriously. I'd like to see you in here, with your weak little human eyes."

Never stopping caressing Kara's hand with her thumb, she huffed in mock offense. " _Rude_. Don't forget I have the key to the most precious, most coveted item here."

"What, nuclear codes ?" Kara deadpanned.

"No." She paused for dramatic effect. When she felt Kara would most likely start to whine, she declared with a proud, clear voice, "Food."

The monster living in Kara's stomach was obviously still very much alive if the noise coming from him was any indication, and Alex couldn't help but chuckle at the racket. Kara blushed slightly, too tired and used to it to be really embarrassed.  
Alex stretched her hand so she could wheel back a little on her office chair while still holding Kara's hand, craning her head towards the exit while waiting for an agent to pass. She didn't have to wait long as an agent walked by a few seconds later, and called her out. When the agent stopped and looked at Alex through the window, Alex waved her in. Still unsure as to why she was being called in the med bay by  _Alex Danvers, the legend,_  she slowly backpedaled and stopped by the door.

While Kara was curiously watching the scene, Alex seemed comfortable asking for five sandwiches, four packs of chocolate cookies and four bottles of water from the vending machine. The agent quickly nodded and hurried off to complete her task. For  _Alex Danvers !_  
Turning back to her sister, she shrugged. "You need to eat, and I'm not leaving your side," she answered Kara's questioning look, which quickly turned into an amused one. 

"You know it's a lot of food, even for me. Especially from a  _vending machine_  Alex, I know I vacuum-eat everything but... I still have standards."

Alex sighed. "That's what's fastest for now. And not everything's for you Miss Vacuum, I do need to eat too. Although, you'll probably eat half of my sandwich. And one of the packs of chocolate cookies is for my Director." Kara raised her eyebrows, surprised. She thought she was the only one of them fetching food for her boss. "He thinks we don't know what he eats when he's stressing about something, but we all see him sneak a biscuit or two from his pocket."

Kara didn't see it before, but Alex obviously had a deeper connection with her Director. She felt a surge of jealousy rising up to her throat, which felt tighter suddenly. She gulped, trying to push the feeling aside, before asking "Are you two close ?"

Alex laughed  _out loud_  at Kara's question, quickly dying out and replaced by a light chuckle. "Not close, no. I just- I respect him a lot, and he tutored me from day one. I guess I didn't tell you how I came to work here yet." She put her hand up, stopping Kara's undoubtedly multiple questions. "I will tell you, but you really need to rest," she pleaded.

Reassured by Alex's response, Kara nodded with a soft  _okay_ , and they waited in a comfortable silence for the agent to come back with the precious food, interrupted only by the  _beeps_  of Kara's heart.  
Even knowing the sound was different, Alex couldn't help but marvel at being able to hear Kara's heart as Kara could hear hers. She got it now, how comforting it was hearing the proof of life and well-being of a loved one. She relaxed her shoulders, closed her eyes and sighed contentedly, just enjoying Kara's presence, knowing she'll be okay, sun lamps or not.

Just as she started to relax again, she heard hurried footsteps approaching. She turned her head to see the agent slowing, approaching quietly with her hands full of food. Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw Kara smile, eyes still closed. Of course she recognized the sound of the plastic wrappers.

"There you go," the agent said shyly before handing Alex all of the food. "I bought different flavors, I hope that's alright," she asked hesitantly.

Alex smiled gratefully, trying to get everything balanced in her arms, but ultimately giving up and putting it down on Kara's body. "Hey !" she called indignantly, a pout making her way on her adorable face.

Ignoring her sister, Alex smirked so that Kara could see before turning back to the Agent. "It's perfect, thank you Agent..." she trailed off.

Surprise quickly replaced by the mask of a soldier, the Agent straightened up, arms behind her back. "Agent Kolt, ma'am."

With an approving look, Alex nodded. "Well, Agent Kolt, thank you."

Still looking right ahead, all shyness forgotten, she answered, "No problem ma'am."

And with that, she turned around and left quickly. Alex took her place back to Kara's side, about to take the food off Kara when she heard her chuckle. "What ?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"You're respected here," she said with a fond smile. 

Narrowing her eyes, she took one water bottle, one pack of chocolate cookies and one sandwich and put them on the floor next to her, intent on giving them to Henshaw. "Why do you say that ?"

Still looking at Alex fondly, Kara said "You should have heard the speed at which her heart was going. Plus, she may or may not have said some stuff under her breath. With a shaky voice. It was like she met her hero." She paused, looking at Alex rolling her eyes, cheeks slightly pink, before continuing. "I don't blame her," she said softly.

Alex snorted, feeling her cheeks burning. She always felt the need to deflect any compliment sent her way, never feeling like she deserved them. And she certainly wasn't used to having this part of her life opened to Kara, having hid it from the start. "I'm no hero, I just have a high rank here, that's all," she said.

"I still think it's more than that but fine, keep your awesome secrets to yourself Agent Danvers," she teased with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes again, Alex just stood up to lift the sun lamps so Kara could sit to eat. "Hold on." She left the room and came back less than a minute later,  _not that Kara was counting_ , with a pillow in her hands and put it behind Kara's back before giving Kara a sandwich. She knew better than to give her the water bottle now, Kara had a tendency to devour without pausing to drink. Or Breathe.

"Always taking care of me," she murmured before removing the plastic from the sandwich.

Alex looked up from her own, and answered "Always" with a soft expression reserved for Kara.

Already mouth full, Kara smiled with crumbs everywhere and ham hanging from her mouth. Alex just watched her with an amused expression, not even laughing, having gotten used to Kara's antics long ago. Munching readily on her sandwich, Kara was to focused to see Alex just staring at her with a dopey smile on her face, and suddenly shaking her head and starting quickly eating her own meal.

She had to admit, these sandwiches weren't half bad. They were definitely tastier than the food at the cafeteria, though they were less nutritive. DEO food was tasteless, but made for soldiers on a strict diet for those who wanted. Alex didn't really need it anymore, she was in more than good shape, but it didn't hurt from time to time.  
Like after sister's night, which consisted of potstickers and pizza and soda, and chips, and candy, and hot chocolate, and sometimes alcohol. Did she need to keep going ? Because she could. And ice cream, and Chinese food, and... All the food you could imagine.

And if she had to work out for hours the week following those nights, who was she to complain ? Those nights were the best. Even though they practically lived together now, they didn't always have sister's night, which was a movie or TV show with an insanely amount of greasy food. They sometimes just read a book, or Alex played a game while Kara watched enthusiastically. Kara always liked watching people play better rather than playing herself because it stressed her out, and watching was like watching a movie, but more fun. Alex didn't really understand, but it was always fun to play while Kara shouted " _Behind you !"_  or just screamed because an enemy appeared suddenly when she didn't expect it. She really was scared easily, which proved to be a fantastic pastime for Alex. Not so much for Kara.

Last time she got out of the shower while drying her hair with a tower, eyes focused on the floor, Alex just jumped out from nowhere and Kara found herself against the ceiling. Towel on the floor and bits of the ceiling in Kara's hair, she slowly came down, a hand on her heart and an angry pout. Alex just smirked and made her way back to the couch, like nothing happened. She should have known. She  _knew_  Kara. She knew her  _and_  she was a trained agent.  
Just as she was about to sit down, she heard a  _swish_  sound and found herself butt on the floor, startled. From behind her, she heard Kara giggling, then laughing uncontrollably and turned her head to see the couch ten feet behind her. She huffed, angry with herself for falling for Kara's pout, thinking she wouldn't do something to retaliate.  
She crossed her arms, not liking this new development. But this was Kara, and a few seconds later, when Kara could once again breathe, she heard rustling and the next second she was on the couch with a fluffy blanket around her and a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.  
She felt Kara hugging her from behind the couch, arms around her neck. "Sorry," she mumbled, cheek against cheek, before putting a quick kiss on said cheek and going back to the bathroom.  _Oh yeah, she has to wash her hair again_. Alex couldn't even be proud of scaring her sister anymore because she felt bad Kara felt guilty for taking the couch from under her. Really, Kara was too good for this world. Safe to say it was the last time Alex scared her sister.

She chuckled at the memory, and shook her head with a small smile when Kara sent her a questioning look. She realized the lost herself in thoughts when she saw that Kara was already at the end of her third sandwich. She bent down to take a water bottle and gave it to Kara, not needing to be asked. They knew each other too well for the need to ask for these kind of things.

"Thanks," Kara mumbled around a mouthful before swallowing and emptying the water in seconds.

Alex reached for another one, handing it to Kara wordlessly. Kara put down her empty bottle and chugged half of the bottle in two seconds. She made a noise of contentment and smiled at Alex, seemingly satisfied with her feast. Smirking, Alex raised an eyebrow. "So, was the food good enough for Miss Vacuum, or was it by pure necessity to gobble three sandwiches in a minute ?"

Kara placed her hand over her heart, eyes wide and scoffed, falsely offended. "How  _dare_  you Agent Danvers. It is by pure politeness that- yeah okay, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." She couldn't keep a straight face for long while lying. Or just, you know, joking.

"Right," she teased, rolling her eyes. Kara really liked when Alex did that, it never failed to make her smile or laugh depending on the situation. It reminded her- or rather,  _Cat_  reminded her of Alex when she did the same thing.

As predicted, once she finished half of her sandwich, she glanced at Kara who was not so subtly staring at it. Sighing with a smile, she was about to give it to Kara when it suddenly disappeared with a rustling sound. She blinked and saw Kara chewing as sneakily as possible but looking very guilty, her eyes looking at the apparently very interesting ceiling.

Alex huffed and took a pack of chocolate cookies, popping one into her mouth. "I was going to give you two of those, but now I'm taking one for myself."

Kara gasped at Alex's nerve, but quickly choked as she still had food in her mouth. She tapped her chest, trying to dislodge her maybe-future-murder-weapon while Alex did the same on her back, looking between mildly worried and amused. Kara couldn't  _really_  choke as she didn't need to breathe -not for a long time anyway- but it was never pleasant to have something keeping you from inhaling -or exhaling apparently. After a couple of seconds Kara coughed and took a deep breath, airway finally free. As she rubbed Kara's back to provide some comfort, she whispered "I think that's a sign that you need to be nicer to me. Also, karma."

Kara gave her the stink eye while she controlled her breathing, the beeping slowing down as she did so. Alex just shrugged and sat back down. After pretending to ignore her sister -which didn't last more than three seconds-, she rolled her eyes - _again_ \- and gave her a pack on chocolate cookies. Before Kara could grab it, she took it just out of reach. "Drink before, to help the food down after your almost death. I'm not cleaning up if you- you know", and she made a noise vaguely resembling someone vomiting.

Kara groaned, not especially psyched to think about vomit while eating, but took the cookies and gulped down the rest of her water. "Thanks," she grumbled while squinting at Alex. After taking a bite of the biscuit, she smiled, the near-death incident forgotten. "Those are actually really good," she exclaimed after swallowing.  _She learned her lesson._

Alex smirked, eating her last one. "Yeah, that's why Henshaw like them so much. I think that's the best food here. Otherwise we have to go out to eat as we can't order, secret government agency and all that, and we don't really have the time to go out."

Kara just hummed, happily munching, and Alex smiled, happy to be able to talk about it freely with her now. Even if she could tell the whole world, it wouldn't matter if she couldn't tell Kara. It was physically painful to keep secrets from her. She felt so light now,  _happy_. She didn't think anything else could make her happier.

As they were both finished with their food -Kara having also finished Alex's water-, Kara laid back down and Alex put the sun lamps back on top of Kara who quickly closed her eyes shut.  
Alex sat back down and resumed her previous position, hand around Kara's. They stayed like that for a few moments, Alex checking Kara's vitals every few minutes, seeing improvement. She couldn't believe she did it, the sun lamps  _worked_. She was proud, but more relieved that Kara could heal faster.

After a few minutes, Kara's breathing evened out, quietly sleeping. She didn't want to leave her alone, but she wanted to check on the situation downstairs, see if Henshaw needed her help. Also, she wanted to give him the sandwich, water bottle and cookies. The man never ate if they weren't careful, and they took care of each other here.

She inched closer in an awkward position so she could plant a kiss on Kara's head before standing up to go see Henshaw. As she tried to go however, she felt Kara's hand holding tighter. She turned back to explain to Kara she won't be long but instead of a worried Kara, she looked at a sleeping Kara, holding her hand tightly even in her sleep.  
She wasn't even surprised, it wasn't the first time, but it never failed to warm her heart, seeing Kara so attached to her. It was selfish really, she should want her sister to be okay sleeping alone, but in a way, she liked having Kara need her.

With a loving smile, eyes only for Kara, she sat back down. Elbows on her knees, she covered Kara's hand with her other one, trying to deliver all the love and tranquility she could through her hands.

Just in case Kara took longer to wake up or heal, she took out a pen from her front pocket and wrote something on each plastic wrappers.

After a while, she leaned back, head resting on the back of the chair and closed her eyes.

An hour and a half later, Hank Henshaw found them both in the same position they fell asleep in, Kara's hand still clasped in Alex's. With a warm smile on his face -he could smile, he was alone. Kinda. -, he made his way into the room.  
He saw plastic wrappers on the floor and went to throw them out when he noticed some still full. He was going to let the food there for the sisters to eat later, but he saw something scribbled down. Upon closer examination, he recognized the handwriting and chuckled softly.

Shaking his head at Alex's obvious softness she tried so hard to hide, he picked up the sandwich and chuckled again when he saw the cookies.  _Of course._

Later, when he was eating the sandwich on his way back to the explosion site, agents found it odd the Director felt the need to write his name on a sandwich clearly coming from their vending machine. And some wondered what  _"K.D & A.D" _ under his name meant.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is longer. I think I need to write longer chapters because of my writing actually.  
> They both start to feel differently about each other but can't really name the feeling  
> I didn't think it'd be such a slow burn hehe but I'm not sorry, those are the best (in my opinion) !  
> Well, hope you enjoyed it  
> As usual, leave a comment if you feel like it, tell me if you liked the chapter or not :)


	11. So it begins

Alex jerked awake, the sudden movement making lose her balance and fall from the chair. As if that wasn't enough, her hand was still clenched in Kara's, so  _of course_  Kara held tightly enough to not let go, even as Alex took her with her as she fell. 

That sure wasn't how they expected to wake up. Alex was on her back, all air stolen away from her lungs because of the weight that fell on her. Said weight, Kara, was on her stomach, head in the crook of Alex's neck because of the fall. She groaned before of the rude awakening and looked up when she heard Alex hiss in pain.

"My hand Kara !"

Kara looked towards their hands to realize she was still holding on, and too tight by the looks of it.

Kara let out a small gasp of surprise, quickly releasing Alex's hand. "Sorry ! I'm sorry Alex, are you okay ?" she asked, looking down at her sister.

Said sister grumbled under her breath, gently rubbing her damaged hand with a scowl. "It's fine Kara, nothing's broken," she said with a sigh. She looked up and watched Kara who was staring at her hand with a worried expression. Alex's heart rate sped up and she froze. The blue of Kara's eyes was so profound she could get lost in it. She found herself staring but couldn't convince herself to stop it. How could she have missed the depth of Kara's eyes until now ?

At the sound of Alex's heart doubling in speed, she looked up to see Alex's eyes staring into hers, never blinking or looking away. She unconsciously stopped breathing, losing herself in her feelings for the first time since her epiphany. They just stared at each other for a moment, wide eyed, like the other held some kind of key to unlock the secret of the universe. 

Kara heard footsteps approaching which made her come out of her stupor, suddenly realizing how close their faces were. In an instant she stood up with a strangled sound -between a yelp and a gasp- while her mouth opened and closed, looking like a fish and face red as a tomato. "S-sorry," she stammered, voice high-pitched. She was suddenly very aware of the rapid  _beep_  echoing loudly in the room, betraying her emotions, and hastily removed it, throwing it on the bed.

Alex seemed to come to her senses as well, shaking her head lightly, the pain in her hand forgotten. What just happened ? She knew she had to say something somehow. "Um-" she started,  _and what a great start,_ but was interrupted by the Director coming in. 

He was walking determined, but halted at the scene in front of him.

Alex was on her back on the floor, propped up on her elbows, looking at Kara completely confused. And in front of her, a good ten feet away, stood Kara looking down at the floor, as rigid as he ever seen her (and after having handcuffed her and seeing her approaching a bomb, he thought he already saw her at her worst), bright red from the neck up.

None of the sisters said anything, just Alex looking at Kara, and Kara looking anywhere but at Alex, visibly very flustered.

Henshaw cleared his throat, trying to get their attention. Both of the sister's heads snapped in his direction, like they suddenly remembered he was there at all.

He repressed a smile at their obliviousness. "So, after our little... incident from yesterday," he started, both sisters looking abashed, "we concluded that the bomb react to the presence of Aliens. That much was clear. However, thanks to Miss Danvers," Kara looked up in surprise, "we were able to identify what made the bomb explode."

Alex, still on the floor, started to get up to look more professional and straightened up. "What is it ?"

Henshaw looked at Alex. "As you know, Aliens give off a different energy than Humans." Kara's eyebrows shot up at that, taking in the new information. "The bomb seems to have the ability to read people's energy and react accordingly."

He paused, letting the Danvers' digest the information. Kara's face was tight with worry, and Alex looked thoughtful and was the first to react. "This is not good," she muttered.

Kara frowned. Alex was not one to state a simple fact like this, so she must mean something else. "What do you mean ?" Kara asked.

All shyness from before got lost in the seriousness of the situation, and Alex calmly explained. "Well, that's advanced technology. Like, really advanced, even for Aliens. So, they must be really powerful to find this kind of weapon and powerful enough to protect themselves from whoever that sold it to them. I'm convinced it's a group, someone working alone wouldn't be able to get their hands on this type of technology. Even sellers are smarter than selling it to just one person, it'd be irresponsible and dangerous for them."

Kara rubbed her forehead with her hand, a clear sign (amongst many others) of stress and frustration. She let out a long sigh, already tired of everything. She felt like they hadn't stopped moving or worrying since it all began, not a minute to stop and just  _breathe_. "So, doesn't that narrow down the suspects ? A big group is more likely to get itself noticed than just a couple of crooks." She nodded to herself as she kept thinking. "Can't you use the technology used for the bomb to find the people who did this ? Surely you can do that with everything you have here. Plus, when we talk about Aliens, it's more than just science like you have on Earth. It's more... Intuitive I guess. The energy may have left a mark... We may be able to trace the energy back to the bomber..." The Crinkle appeared as she mumbled to herself, thinking of ways to find the persons responsible.

Alex nodded her agreement before noticing the look her Director gave her, like he was surprised.  _Ah, right._  "She's a little... smarter than your average alien." When Henshaw just lifted an eyebrow, she sighed, looking over to Kara before diverting her eyes. "Kara has, like, super-intelligence," she rushed out, getting it over with.

Kara snapped back to reality and rolled her eyes so hard they almost flew off. "I do  _not_ , thank you very much. I'm just from an advanced species, that's all." At Alex's snort, she huffed, squinting at her. "Being bio-engineered has nothing to do with it, it's just... easier to learn new stuff," she said, shrugging self-consciously. 

It was Alex's turn to roll her eyes, a shadow of a smirk on her face visible to Kara only. Henshaw inhaled deeply, taking in the information.  _Boy was he glad that the strongest and maybe smartest alien was on their side._  "Well, we could put your brain to good use, if you don't mind. It'd help us greatly to find the people who tried to... hurt Agent Danvers. For her security." He knew using Alex's near death would make Kara agree quicker, even if it was kind of a low blow.

Kara crossed her arms, standing tall and puffing out her chest in clear sign of strength. "Of course I'll help," she huffed, offended he'd think she wouldn't help in any way possible. "No need to manipulate me, Director. I know my priorities."

The Director raised his eyebrows slightly, showing his surprise, while Alex quietly gaped at her sister. Where did  _that_  come from ? Alex felt a mixture of worry and pride at Kara's quiet outburst. 

As the silence stretched out, Kara looked between Henshaw and Alex and settled her eyes on Alex's, brows furrowing. "What ?"

Alex stayed quiet for a few more seconds, slowly trying keep her new and weird feelings in check. "Nothing, you just seem a bit more... assertive ?"

Kara shrugged. "Like I said, I know what my priorities are and what I have to do."

Alex couldn't seem to stop staring at Kara, stunned at her sister's determination. That wasn't exactly new as no one could stop Kara when she decided to do something, but Kara defending herself, and from a person of power no less,  _was_  new. 

Henshaw was silently watching their exchange, having a clearer idea of how Kara felt towards Alex. He nodded to himself before speaking up. "I do apologize then, I can see how much you care for her," he finally said, face still carefully emotionless. "I'm going to debrief the team, then you can both join us to work on this," he said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

The room was quiet as Alex stared at Kara who stared at the floor. "So... You're standing up for yourself. Against Director Henshaw," Alex chuckled but genuinely surprised.

Kara frowned. "I'm not standing up for myself," she replied. "It's for you," she added after a beat.

Taken a little aback, Alex's eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline. " _Me ?"_

Eyebrows still furrowed, Kara titled her head to the side, confused. "Well,  _yeah_ ," she said like it was obvious. "I mean, he tried to make me remember what we were doing here, like I forgot you were almost  _murdered_ ," she said with venom. "Like you didn't mean anything to me, like I didn't care enough," she said, visibly angry as she looked down. 

Still surprised by every emotions Kara showed during the last couple of minutes, she came closer and took Kara's hands in hers. "I don't think that's what he meant," she said softly, meeting Kara's now sad eyes as she looked up. "He just-" She sighed. "He just wants to catch whoever did this. He appears a little stoic, but he cares, I've seen it. And he doesn't know you.  _And_  we deal with dangerous aliens everyday, it's not that easy to just...  _accept_  aliens could be good. Especially as good as you are," she said with such kindness Kara felt a squeeze in her chest.

She dropped her head on Alex's shoulder, giving in. "Well, he should do a better job at showing his emotions then, or he's going to get punched one day," she huffed.

Alex's right hand released Kara's to pat gently her hair as she chuckled. "I have a feeling it already happened. Though you could learn a thing or two from him."

Kara's head snapped up as she backed away a bit to look at Alex's face, a frown still on her face. "What ? Why ?"

Alex just smirked, reaching out to rub Kara's crinkle with her thumb, relieved when Kara didn’t pull away. "You could never hide how you felt, but that's a new level," she shrugged. At Kara's squinted look, she gave her a lopsided smile. "What, don't be like that. I like it when you're protective of me."

Kara felt her face slowly heating up and quickly looked down, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I-I'm not-" She sighed as she resigned herself to her fate, feeling caught at having inappropriate feelings towards her sister. She felt mortified because she knew what she was feeling was different, but she had to remember Alex didn't know and that Alex also was protective of Kara. "Okay, maybe I am," she mumbled. She chanced a glance at Alex, head still hung low.

She didn't have to worry though, because Alex just looked at her with unmasked love. She shook her head a little, smile still in place and tugged at Kara's hand. "Come on, let's do this thing !" If she sounded somehow chipper after Kara's show of protectiveness even though they were headed to find the ones who tried to kill her, it was purely a coincidence. 

Kara chuckled at Alex's antics and happily followed her sister out of the room, hands linked.  
They made their way downstairs, joining everyone and stopped once behind the agents that were facing the Director. They both crossed their arms and listened attentively. 

"-why we're leaning more towards the idea of a large group rather than a few people," he said, voice clear and loud. He made eye contact with the sisters and resumed his debriefing. "Miss Danvers thinks the criminal may have some sort of trace left from the bomb, from its energy. So, get on it," he said with finality.   
As the agents scattered, everyone with a goal in mind, Henshaw made a beeline for the sisters. "I'd like to suggest something, but only if you both consent," he started speaking as he approached them.

The two women shared a look before nodding at Henshaw to continue. "We need Miss Danvers to take a closer look at the bomb, but as I said, we all saw it's not a good idea. We still need her brain though, but she can't come near the weapon." He looked at Alex then. "So I was thinking of getting you to inspect it with Miss Danvers telling you what to do through your earpiece."

Alex felt Kara getting ready to protest, so she quickly put her hand on Kara's arm to stop her, shooting her a soothing glance before looking back at her Director silently inviting him to keep going. "Let him speak," she whispered, too low for anyone but Kara to hear. Under her hand, she felt Kara's muscles minutely relax.

Henshaw nodded. "Right, I'm not quite finished. I had many agents going near the bomb since we discovered it and nothing happened." He silently thanked H'ronmeer that he hadn't had the time to go see the bomb himself before Kara, and looked at her directly. "Humans are safe, Agent Danvers would be safe," he pushed. "She would be your eyes, ears and hands, and you would share your knowledge through the earpiece, trying to find something out, something a Human couldn't."  

Alex agreed with Henshaw's idea, it was quite ingenious. Although, she wouldn't need to be Kara's eyes and ears as she could see and hear everything from a 60 mile radius if she focused enough. She still needed to be her hands though.

When she glanced at Kara, she saw that she was looking worriedly at her, weighing the pros and cons. Alex smiled encouragingly at her, no trace of fear or doubt showing on her face. 

Kara rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes as she lowered her head, chin touching her chest. "Fine," she sighed before locking eyes with the Director. "But if at any moment I want to stop and get Alex out of there, she's out of there."

The Director and the Agent both nodded, satisfied with Kara's conditions. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, got a lot of work and got pretty tired, but I'm not abandoning this story, promise !
> 
> So, Kara and Alex can sense things change between them, it finally starts !
> 
> Also, Alex is going to get close to the bomb, I sure hope nothing bad happens...
> 
> Leave a comment if you liked it !


	12. Healing

"Wait !"

Both Kara and Henshaw turned to see Alex still rooted on her spot and gave her matching confused looks. "What ?" asked Kara.

"I need to examine you first, see how you respond to the sun lamps."

Kara sighed. "Alex, can we do this later and get this over with ? I feel fine, I promise," she said, trying to convince her sister.

But Alex was determined. "Kara, the more we wait, the more incorrect the results will be. Plus, I need to check you ribs."

"My ribs," Kara deadpanned. "What about yours ? If you check mine, someone will have to check yours too," she stated, crossing her arms for good measure. 

Rolling her eyes while groaning (reminding Kara of a grouchy teenage Alex), Alex let out a long sigh. "Fine. Let's get ourselves checked out," she said as she began walking without waiting for Kara.

Kara looked between Alex and Henshaw, not sure what to do. "Um, I'm just gonna..." she trailed off, pointing awkwardly towards Alex with her thumb, before turning and following her quickly.

She caught up to her on the stairs and they walked up in silence, side by side. Once at the top, Alex turned to Kara. "Go back to the room where the sun lamps are, I'm gonna get the doctor to look at my ribs," she said as she kept walking backwards.

Kara nodded and made her way to the med bay, sitting on the bed/coffin with her legs dangling as she didn't reach the floor. Oddly, the bed was as high as a table, so her feet didn't even graze the floor, which was new as she was quite tall.  
She was swinging her legs while playing with a strand of hair when Alex came back with a doctor.   
Kara looked up to see a tall woman with a white coat on, and a warm smile on her face, so Kara smiled automatically. 

Alex always said she was warm, and everyone liked her because she was always smiling, being nice to everyone as opposed to Alex.  
However, it was Alex that was always surrounded by people and Kara was more of a loner. Until they became close that is, and then it was always both of them together.

The doctor kept walking until she was in front of Kara, a hand held out. Kara hopped out of the bed and shook the doctor's hand.

"This is Doctor Hamilton," she presented as she walked closer to Kara, ready for the check up.

"Nice to meet you," Kara smiled easily.

"Likewise," answered Dr. Hamilton, voice soft and reassuring somehow.

Alex was getting impatient and she didn't hide it. "Okay, okay, introductions over," she declared, separating the two women by putting herself between them.

Dr. Hamilton huffed a laugh and stepped back while Kara just rolled her eyes with a small smile, used to Alex's restlessness. She felt her shirt ride up and looked down to see Alex already at work. She grabbed the edge and pulled it up, easing the access to her ribs for Alex.

Alex was leaning over to inspect the area closely and let a little whistling. "Like nothing happened," she whispered, pleasantly surprised as she ghosted Kara's ribs with her fingers.

Of course, Alex had already seen Kara's quick healing through the years, but the bruises disappeared completely in under an hour. It would normally have taken at least 24 hours for Kara to not feel the pain anymore, but now she stood, feeling nothing with her skin as white as it normally was.

"I told you it would work," Kara said as she covered herself up again.

Alex straightened and put her hands on her hips. "You did," she drawled with a light blush. "Didn't mean it would have." She paused, still recovering from the fact that she  _did it_. And Kara was okay. "Though I shouldn't be surprised, I  _am_  me after all," she teased with a smirk.

Kara rolled her eyes again (it quickly became a habit with the Danvers sisters) before making a show of looking around, frowning. "Excuse me," she said, looking back at Alex. "I'm looking for my sister. She's about this tall," she continued, putting her hand next to Alex's head, "and she's a little less of a jerk than you," she said, looking at Alex right in the eyes, who was looking at her dumbfounded but amused. "Oh wait," she said, all of a sudden looking serious. "No she's not."

Alex huffed, pretending to be offended, and was going to talk back when they heard a snort behind Alex. Alex turned around as Kara looked over her shoulder to see Dr. Hamilton covering her mouth with one hand, trying to hide the amusement they could clearly see in the way her eyes were squinting. 

Alex crossed her arms defensively, not used to being made fun of. She turned her head to scold Kara but she saw her with a big smile, evidently happy for having made the doctor laugh. And also, possibly, for having a moment where they went back to their normal selves, just teasing and taking care of each other. Not wanting to break the moment, she played along, relaxing a little too. "Says the one stole all of my food this morning," she deadpanned.

Kara fake gasped, putting her hand above her heart in mock hurt. "How dare you, you ate the whole... half. That's... something !  _And_  you had a pack of cookies by yourself, I didn't even take one."

It was Alex's turn to roll her eyes, but she still smiled softly. As she was going to reply, Dr. Hamilton clasped her hands together, resulting in making both sisters jump a little, startled. "Well, as much fun as it is to watch you two, I seem to remember you calling me to check your ribs. And as you are human, I  _think_ ," she whispered the last word, looking innocently away, "I don't believe you healed quite as quickly as Miss Danvers here."

Kara tried to contain her smile as Alex squinted in her direction, feeling betrayed because she  _knew_  Dr. Hamilton won't let her go until she was properly attended to.  
She internally groaned but huffed at loud, making her distaste for the situation obvious. She looked uncomfortable now, as if Kara's presence was bothering her. Somehow sensing it, Kara asked "Do you want some privacy ?"

She would have said yes if not for the hurt look her sister had. She quickly grabbed her hand and shook her head. "No, stay."

Relaxing visibly, Kara smiled and leaned on the bed, hand still in Alex's.

Dr. Hamilton closed the distance between her and Alex and made a gesture with her hand, flapping it up and down. Understanding the move, Alex slowly pulled up her shirt, looking in the opposite direction of Kara, uncomfortable again.

Kara frowned, not understanding Alex's problem, but one look at her ribs and she couldn't hold back the loud gasp as the noise of metal bending echoed loudly. She brought her shaking hand up to her mouth, as if trying to prevent other sounds from coming out, but quickly lowered it and slowly edged closer to Alex, leaving a dent on the edge of the bed, looking at the bruises. It wasn't the few bruises here and there that caught her attention, but two distinct hands shaped bruises at either side of Alex's torso. The doctor hissed and looked up at Kara, seeing her devastation. She quickly stepped back, knowing what was coming. 

Kara inhaled shakily, passing her hand through her hair, trying to calm down. Alex still held her other hand, and squeezed it to get Kara to focus on her. "Hey. Kara, look at me," she asked softly. When Kara just looked down at their joined hands with misty eyes. "Kara," she said louder, cutting through the fog Kara seemed to be surrounded by. She slowly looked up, looking so ashamed and sad, as the tears finally fell. " _This_  is not your fault." As Kara looked down again, not believing a word Alex was saying, she dropped her hand in order to take Kara's face in her hands, forcing her to look at her. "This is not you fault," she repeated vehemently. "It was either this, or much,  _much_  worse." She wiped the tears with her thumbs, rubbing gently Kara's cheekbones. "I don't think you thought I was serious when I told you you saved me.  _Again_  might I add," she said, bringing Kara's face closer so she could kiss her forehead in gratitude, lingering just an instant too much.

Kara had her eyes closed, trying to breathe evenly. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking into Alex's for a moment. She glanced down quickly before looking at Alex again, worried. "Does it-" She gulped, trying to talk around the knot she felt in her throat.

Alex understood however. "It doesn't. It doesn't hurt Kara, I promise. It's just a bit tender, but you know I mark easily. It's all good," she said with a loving smile. Seeing nothing but honesty in Alex's eyes, Kara nodded. "Plus, if I want to buy you that ring you saw the other day, I won't have to measure your finger in your sleep, I can just do it on my skin. So useful," she joked, trying to lift the tension.

It worked as Kara let out a breathy laugh, eyes crinkling with relief, and straightened up making Alex drop her hands at her side. She sniffed loudly and rubbed her hands on her cheeks, trying to get rid of the incriminating evidence of her slight break down. She let out a long breath and smiled at Alex, tears still in her eyes. Alex smiled back, relieved Kara believed her, she didn't want her to think it was her fault when it so clearly wasn't.

"Um, I didn't really have the time to properly inspect the bruises Agent Danvers," said quietly Dr. Hamilton. 

Both sisters startled,  _again_ , as they forgot she was still here. "So-" She coughed, trying to clear her airway so she could speak clearly, like a normal person. "Sorry Doctor, I'm ready." She had a light blush on her cheeks, embarrassed of the scene they caused in front of her colleague.

The Doctor waved her hand in a dismissive gesture before coming back in front of Alex, leaning up close and touching every rib delicately, inspecting every bruise. She was very thorough and that's why Alex liked her. She was a no nonsense kind of doctor and was serious about her work. 

Alex didn't lie when she said it didn't really hurt, she barely felt it when the doctor poked her at certain places, trying to see how she reacted. She just held Kara's hand, squeezing as she smiled at her.

After a short moment, Dr. Hamilton straightened up and removed her rubber gloves, tossing them in the bin next to the table. "It all seems okay. As Agent Danvers said it is a little tender, but that's nothing to worry about. No fractured ribs, no cuts, nothing. You just have to take it easy, try not to lift heavy weight for a while. Aside from that, you're good to go," she concluded with a smile. You could feel it wasn't a fake, polite smile, but a real, warm one.

Kara was happy Alex was in such good hands, and had such a genuine and kind colleague. She didn't know a lot about this place, but she knew the work they did could darken some people inside, dulling their kindness. She was glad Alex and Dr. Hamilton were still bright inside.

Alex nodded, satisfied with her assessment. "Thank you Amelia."

"Thank you Dr. Hamilton," added Kara, really grateful.

"My pleasure," answered Amelia, smiling. She waved a little at Kara before exiting the room, seemingly going back to work.

Alex let out a breath through her nose, somewhat relieved the whole thing went well. She's been scared Kara would take it more badly, so she was relieved to see Kara trusted her to tell the truth.

"She's really nice," commented Kara, voice a little rough after crying. 

Alex turned to her, seeing her eyes red, still shiny from recent tears. "She is."

Kara breathed a light laugh. "That's it ? You're on first name basis apparently, and more importantly, you respected her diagnosis. You didn't even counter her once !" she exclaimed, arms flailing in disbelief. 

"We work a lot together when I'm not in the field," she shrugged. "And I agreed with her diagnosis because it was the right one," she said, sending Kara a look.

Kara shook her head, scoffing. "I can't believe how reluctant you are to admit that you're, well, that you respect her at least ! Actually, scratch that, I  _do_ believe it. And even when someone's right, you still like to correct them just to show off a little," she said, a hint of laughter in her words.

During Kara's tirade, Alex's face became a bit redder than usual because she felt caught. She wasn't used to showing her esteem towards anyone else than Kara, especially in front of Kara. She felt like she did something wrong, like she somehow  _cheated_ on Kara even though they weren't... Like that.  _Where did_ that  _come from ?_  She felt a shiver run down her spine and tried to suppress the odd things she was feeling. 

She frowned, crossing her arms. She knew it was a classic gesture of defensiveness, but she felt the need to do so anyway. "Well, of course I respect her. I wouldn't spend everyday working with her if I thought she was useless at her job," she replied. 

Chuckling, Kara nudged Alex's shoulder with her own. "I'm just teasing," she said, smiling. "I'm glad you found someone to work with who you respect. It's a good thing, you don't have to put your walls back up."

She deflated then, leaning against Kara and passing her hand through her hair. "I know," she sighed. "Habits. Sorry."

Kara gave her a lopsided smile while shrugging with one shoulder, a very much  _meh_  gesture. Alex smiled back, still not believing she had the amazing luck to have Kara in her life and gave her a one armed hug, squishing her cheek against Kara's shoulder. She always wanted to give off power and confidence, trying to appear taller than she was, but she didn't mind feeling little next to Kara. On the contrary.  

Inhaling deeply, she let go of Kara after squeezing her shoulder and put her hands on her hips, like she often did. "You ready ?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," answered Kara, determined. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we catch those-those-" she spluttered, not finding a word powerful enough without swearing.

Alex snorted loudly. "It's amazing that you never swear Kara, truly. But some situations call for it. Like now. You can say 'bastards'," she suggested. At Kara's speedy shake of the head, she smirked. "Not good enough ?" she teased. "How about 'moth'-"

Kara quickly put both of her hands on Alex's mouth, feeling enough flustered from the first insult. "No ! That's-That's fine, the first one's good ! Let's keep this one, yeah !" she squealed.

Alex shoved Kara's hands away so she could let out the laugh she was holding in while Kara mumbled unhappily. Alex's laugh turned into a chuckle as she shook her head, trying to calm down. "Alright, alright, let's get these jerks," she smoothed, using Kara's worst insult. 

Kara smiled shyly, shrugging awkwardly, but used to being teased about her politeness even in tense situations.  _Understatement of the year._  

They exited the room and walk down the stairs, making their way to Henshaw where he waits for them. With the bomb. That already exploded twice. And this time, there'll be no hold-up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, no encounter with the bomb in this chapter, I kinda lied. My bad.  
> But we'll see the pretty white box again next chapter, promised. It may or may not detonate again. We'll just have to see I guess.
> 
> As usual, leave a comment if you liked it ! Thank you for reading.


	13. Inspection

As they walked down the several corridors -Kara staying close to Alex so she won't get lost-, Kara wiped her moist hands down her pants, a clear sign of nervousness.

Alex noted rather early on that Kara didn't fidget with her glasses when she was with Alex. Granted, she wasn't wearing them now, but she usually reached for them even when she wasn't wearing them when she was with other people, an old habit. But she didn't with Alex. Like she felt normal enough to forget the glasses, to forget she needed them most of the time to damper her powers. And Alex felt lighter every time she remembered that fact, giddy with the knowledge she made Kara feel normal.

She still had nervous tics though, such as rubbing her hands on her pants or fidgeting with the edge of a clothing. On her couch, she would take a cushion and lay it on her lap, playing with the corners or a loose string. So when Alex detected her anxiousness, she stopped her by putting her hand on Kara's arm.

"Hey, it's okay. It's gonna be alright. You'll be just on the other side of the room, with a glass so you can monitor my every move." As Kara still looked unsure, she added "Plenty of agents came by and inspected the bomb. Nothing happened. As nothing will happen to me. Last time was unlucky, but we know better now. And..." she pursed her lips. "We don't have much of a choice."

Kara looked into her eyes for a moment trying to determine if it was worth the risk. But, logically speaking, she knew Alex would be safe. Even if the worst thing occurred, she would be ready to save Alex in less than a second. She'd be ready now.

"Okay," she nodded, determined. 

They walked in the room adjacent to the one where the bomb was in, joining the Director. He had his arms crossed, already not liking this, "this" being putting one of his agents at risk. But having no choice, he didn't voice his worry. "Let's do this," he said and they all nodded their agreement. "So, you have your earpiece that you wear at all times," he began, looking at Alex. "We'll talk to you with our own. It'll be just us listening in, just in case. We still don't know how the bomber knew you'd be on that plane."

Kara's eyes widen as she realized she didn't think about how the bomber knew Alex would be on the plane.  _Shoot_.

Before Alex could leave the room, Kara put her hand on Alex's shoulder and gave it light squeeze. "I'll protect you if anything happens, I'll be ready this time," she promised, talking about the present situation and if the bomber ever showed himself.

Alex smiled at her, putting her hand over Kara's, before turning away and marching, determined, closer to the bomb.

She took a deep breath, keeping it in for a few seconds before releasing it back out. She was ready, she could do this. Kara did and she didn't have any training. Kara did it for  _her_. She could easily do this for Kara. She'd do anything for her, that was just another item on the list.

While Alex prepared herself to go in, Kara turned to look at Henshaw. "How do you think the bomber knew ? Do you think you have a mole here ?" she asked, worried. If there was indeed a mole, then her sister was in constant danger.

Henshaw scowled, not liking this idea but thinking the same thing. "I had my doubts because I trust everyone here, but I can't see how the bomber would have known otherwise. So yes, I think it's safe to assume somebody's leaking information."

Kara clenched her jaw, trying to remain calm in light of this new information. She slowly let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding in. "I don't like this," she stated. "I won't let Alex stay here until we catch whoever's working with the enemy. I won't risk it," she said while shaking her head.

Sighing, Henshaw put his hands on his hips, looking a little more relaxed at the idea of having Kara helping him keep Alex safe. He hasn't told Alex yet, but he suspected she knew, she was smart. Too smart. That might be why she was targeted.   
He hasn't told anyone else really, afraid of tipping off the mole, not knowing who it was. He was surprised the person had pulled this off without alerting Henshaw of the situation, with his whole mind reading ability. He was glad to still be in hiding and having exactly no one knowing about his powers. So convenient.

He nodded, agreeing with her. "I agree," he answered, surprising her a bit. "You should stay with her for the time being, away from the DEO. You'll be able to keep her safe," he said, looking into her eyes steadily, as if trying to read her mind.  _As if._

"I will," she affirmed, face serious. "I'll do anything to protect her Director," she promised.

With a hint of a smile, he gave her a knowing look. "Oh, I don’t doubt it." Feeling her face heating up, she quickly looked away, trying to distract herself with anything.  _I know_  he said. Of course he didn't know.  _She_  barely knew ! Finding nothing that could hold her attention in the bare room, she looked at Henshaw again, but he was looking in front of him. She followed his look, seeing Alex walking slowly towards the bomb. "If your home isn't safe for Agent Danvers," he continued like he never stopped talking in the first place, "We have safe houses we could put both of you in. It's just in case, but know it's an option. I don't want anything to happen to Agent Danvers," he quietly stated.

Kara smiled then, relieved he seemed to care about Alex.  _Alex was right, he does care_. "Thank you," she answered softly.

He only grunted in response, his cold exterior trying to hide his kind heart.

"I'm in position," came Alex's voice through their earpieces.

Alex and Kara made eye contact through the big glass separating them and Kara gave her an encouraging smile. Alex nodded, serious as ever.

"Copy," replied Henshaw. "Follow Miss Danvers' instructions from now on." He paused. "And no funny business Agent Danvers," he ordered. "Only do what she tells you to, no unnecessary risks, or you'll be suspended," he informed her.

Alex frowned at the other end of the room, not liking being babysat, by her  _little_  sister no less, but nodded nonetheless.

Kara just pursed her lips to keep herself from laughing. She was enjoying this situation way too much for the danger they were actually in. Well, mostly Alex. "Okay Alex, I can see from here. Just keep your distance while I try to see if I can catch anything odd from here without you touching it," she said, trying to keep her voice gentle as to not make Alex feel like she was ordered.

She nodded, keeping her distance as requested, and looked at the bomb too. Two pair of eyes couldn't hurt, even if Kara's could see better than hers even all the way in the other room.  
She waited a couple of minutes, knowing Kara was watching it with her zoom-like vision, then with her x-ray vision. If the time she waited was any indication, she was being thorough.

She glanced at Kara after a while, trying to gauge her expressions, but Kara just looked focused, The Crinkle making its appearance. When Kara looked up, she realized she's been staring but kept her gaze locked on Kara's, lifting an eyebrow to silently ask  _So ?_

Kara shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "I'm not even feeling its energy, maybe it needs time to recharge," she mused out loud, a thoughtful look on her face. After a few seconds, she seemed to come back to reality. "Anyway, I didn't get to really touch it last time. Just made contact with the tip of my finger and then-" She made a gesture imitating an explosion, with background noises and everything. She was invested, okay ? Henshaw just scowled at her,  _his favorite expression apparently,_  and she sobered up. She cleared her throat awkwardly and reached for her glasses, but tugged on a strand of hair when she just felt her face instead of the frame. Alex hid her chuckle behind a fake cough, fooling exactly no one. " _Anyway_ , I'd like you to tell me what you feel when touching it. It might help me figure out what it's made of."

"Okay," nodded Alex.

She got closer to the bomb, and ever so slowly, gently touched it with a feather-like touch, only hearing the heavy breathing of an anxious Kara. She waited a few seconds, everyone holding their breath, but nothing happened. She breathed out, getting more and more confident with every passing seconds, relaxing her muscles.

"Okay," she whispered to herself. She started softly touching it with her thumbs, feeling the material. "It's smooth and cold," she described to Kara who nodded. Even without touching it, it seemed that way, the color almost glowing with its whiteness.

Alex suddenly gasped, quickly removing her hands, holding them up high as if trying to keep them as far away as possible.

Kara immediately tensed, on her toes, ready to jump in if need be. "What happened ?" she asked panicked, fists clenched at her side, trying to stay where she was. It wouldn't do anyone any good to take Alex out of here only to detonate the bomb by accident just because she was scared. 

"Um, I'm-I'm not sure," she slowly answered. "I was putting a bit more force, see the hardness of the bomb, but..." she trailed off.

"But what ?" asked Henshaw, curious.

"It wasn't. Hard, I mean. It was soft, like-sort of like a leather cushion or something," she tried to explained. 

" _Oh_ ," let out Kara, surprised, lowering her shoulders.

Alex's head turned towards Kara, intrigued at the tone of her reaction. "What ?"

"It's... It's Tokrethil," she answered, the name rolling off her tongue so naturally. "I may be wrong, but I don't think so. It makes sense. The buzzing, the energy, and the almost transparent color... It's just like I remember it..." 

She had that far away look she had when she thought about Krypton or her life from before. "Do you know more ?" asked softly Alex, wishing she could hug her sister so tightly even Kara would tell her to ease up.

Kara audibly gulped, trying to stay impassible. "It's from Thanagar. They also created Nth Metal, which you obviously know about," she said absentmindedly. "They created the hardest and softest material I know, and Tokrethil is the softest."

Alex frowned, confused. "How can it stay in a specific shape if it's as soft as you say ?"

Kara had The Crinkle on her forehead, indicating some kind of uneasiness. "I'm not really clear on the details as I was young, but from what I remember there's a shape you choose, and whatever may happen, it will always come back to the chosen shape. Must be because of the particles..." She bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. "That's why they chose it. Because the bomb would be reusable. It's practical, especially with how much it must have cost them..." she trailed off, pieces of the puzzle forming a blurry shape, but a shape nonetheless. Something gnawed at her deep inside her mind, trying to resurface.

Alex sighed. "Why though ? Wouldn't it better to destroy the evidence ? It's not like..."

Kara and Alex made eye contact, realizing at the same time what was one of the missing piece of the puzzle. "They wanted to come back and retrieve it. They thought there'd be no survivors, the plane crashing into the sea," Kara breathed out. She wiped her head towards Henshaw, almost grabbing his harm in alarm. "Do you have security footage of the crash site ?" she asked quickly, vibrating with energy, the possibility of identifying the criminals (or one of them) making her feel restless. She shut her eyes, shaking her head, "I mean, where I dragged it. Do you have eyes on that area ?" she asked, voice getting louder with excitation.

"I'll have to check," answered calmly Henshaw, though she could see he was anything but. They were getting closer to catching the ones responsible for everything and Henshaw couldn't wait to get his hands on them. "I'll do it in my office so no one will see, using a private line. We can't risk being discovered when we have our first lead."

Kara nodded and could see Alex nodding too, not surprised by the fact that Alex seemed to know there was a mole. And they were going to find them, then catch them, keeping them far away from Alex.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So nothing happened with the bomb... Maybe.  
> I know it's slow, be it the story or the romance, but it's getting there.  
> Thank you all for your comments and hanging on until now !


	14. Safety

After Director Henshaw left for his office to look for the security footage, Kara and Alex went back to the room where they slept.  
Kara swung the door open and promptly closed it, making Alex bump into her.

"Ow, what the  _hell_  Kara," she complained, rubbing delicately her sore nose. "You're a freaking wall, you know this !" she scowled. It wasn't the first time it happened.

Kara spun around, back against the door and arms slightly outstretched to block Alex from going in. She knew her face was red now and she must look like she just saw a ghost, lips turned downwards and eyes wide in alarm.

Alex's heart rate spiked up for a moment, fearing the worst, but quickly realized Kara didn't look scared, she looked...  _mortified ?_

Alex squinted at her in suspicion and raised an eyebrow in question, crossing her arms, trying to appear imposing. Well, she  _was_ , but not to a Kryptonian. "Kara ?"

"Um, maybe- you know, you should-" she stammered, obviously flustered. "Maybe like, can you wait a minute before going in ?" she almost pleaded.

Alex stared at her blankly for a few seconds before the realization hit her, and laughed loudly, surprising even herself. "You-" she tried to say between breaths, "you just don't want me to see the mess you made this morning," she wheezed out, barely being able to breathe.

If possible, Kara's face became even redder to the tip of her ears and she frowned, very embarrassed. "I just want to clean up real quick," she explained, visibly displeased by Alex's reaction.

Calmer now, Alex was still chuckling but could talk normally. "Come on, I was there this morning, even if half asleep. You know I don't mind you making a mess," she smiled, shrugging. "I know you make efforts at home, but I couldn't care less about your slip-ups," she said reassuringly. 

Still red, Kara nodded, slowly opened the door and Alex stifled a whistle. It really  _was_  a mess. No one came in the room when they were not there because they heard what happened to the wall this morning, so no one cleaned up. Alex almost thought they got the wrong room and walked in the room where the bomb exploded earlier. "Well," she said loudly, "let's get to work then." She turned to close the door and felt a gush of wind, so she turned back and everything was more or less cleaned up. "Wha-  _Kara_ , I was gonna help !" she pouted.

Kara smiled sheepishly, shrugging one shoulder. "It's faster this way, and you should take it easy." At Alex's confused look, she rolled her eyes. "Your  _ribs_ , you dummy," she explained, gesturing in Alex's direction with her arm.

It was Alex's turn to roll her eyes and huff. "She said not to lift heavy weight, I think I can manage a little cleaning up," she countered. "What am I gonna do at home, let my apartment get dirty and never vacuum or anything ?" she challenged.

"Yes, because I'll clean up !" Kara smiled brightly. "And before you can say no, that's not up for discussion. Plus, it's not like it takes me long."

Alex knew Kara could be protective and a little smothering when she was hurt, years of playing sports being the proof, but Kara going out of her way to come and clean up at her house because she had a few bruised ribs was another thing. Of course, that's because she didn't know they were going to live together until the criminals were caught.

So she pursed her lips to stop herself from pushing Kara away, a habit she never really could break. "Okay," she sighed. Seeing Kara beam this much just for being able to help Alex like this made it worth it and she smiled back. "Thanks Kar," and if possible, Kara beamed even more, almost blinding Alex.

"No worries !" she answered with her bright smile, like she couldn't wait to come every few other day to clean up Alex's apartment. 

"I'll wait for you with pot stickers on those days then," she promised and Kara squealed of joy and  _carefully_ engulfed her in a big hug while Alex laughed in delight. 

After a moment, Kara let go of Alex, her hand still lingering on her arm. "Can't wait to come vacuum," she said honestly, which caused Alex so laugh again.

"You and food," she chuckled, shaking her head. "The biggest love story of History," she teased.

Kara just shrugged, not even embarrassed, smile till in place.

"By the way, how did you clean up all of the dust ?" she asked.

"Let's just say I can use my breath for something else than blowing a cake in your face while trying to blow out a birthday candle," she answered with a smirk.

"Right," Alex snorted, cheeks pink at the reminder, pushing playfully Kara's shoulder.

Now they had to get ready because Director Henshaw was trying to find one of the criminals.

Kara had left her wet clothes dry on a chair in a corner, but it was covered in salt now because of the ocean, so she decided to stay in the DEO clothes. Plus, they were comfy.  
Alex hadn't had the chance to change before because the Director called them to debrief, and they went straight to inspect the bomb after having their injuries checked out. Or rather, Alex's injuries.

"I'm gonna go change into my uniform," Alex let Kara know before turning to leave.

Kara almost told Alex not to because they wouldn't stay here anyway, but she figured seeing Alex in uniform might send the mole off track. So she just nodded and sat patiently on the bed, waiting for her sister to come back.

While waiting for Alex, she began to think about everything that happened but tried to stay away from her...  _feelings_. She had to stay focused on the threat, she had to think how to announce to Alex she wanted her to move out of her apartment to move in with her for her security. Normally she wouldn't be worried asking Alex to move in with her, they practically already lived together, but if she told Alex it was for her safety then it wouldn't be as well received. But she didn't care, Alex  _will_  move in even if she had to somehow force her. Well, move in or they would both move in a safe house.

Her mind drifted off, imagining them living together, always returning to each other at the end of each day. Sisters night every night. Cooking together again, like when they were younger. Talking about their days, and Alex being truthful now. Cuddling on the couch, in the bed before drifting off to sleep. Falling asleep and waking up every day with Alex by her side. She dreamily sighed because it really seemed perfect. For all the awfulness of the situation, at least she'll be able to enjoy more time with Alex. That wasn't so bad.

She shook her head, trying to stop thinking about Alex like this. It wasn't the time, she could do more soul searching once everything was over, once she caught the one who planted the bomb on the plane. 

Which made her think... Someone had to put the bomb on that plane  _and_  detonate it. And that someone had to be alien to be able to set off the weapon. So that meant...

Just when she stood up suddenly, Alex opened the door dressed up in her all black DEO uniform. She stopped in her tracks seeing Kara's look. "What ?" she asked worriedly.

Kara just stood there for a few seconds while Alex closed the door, looking right ahead as she processed the information. She then turned her head quickly to face Alex, flailing her arms around. "Alex ! Alex, I think I got another lead !" she said loudly, not believing she hadn't seen it before.

Now all ears and very curious, Alex closed the distance between them and put her hand on Kara's arm to ground her. "Tell me. Slowly," she instructed, knowing an excited Kara could be a verbal diarrhea.

Kara nodded rapidly, taking the time to sort out her thoughts. "Okay, yeah. Okay, so, the bomb," she began. "The bomb was on the plane, with you."  _God, Kara trying to explain things slowly was..._  so _slow._ "And we know they need an alien to detonate it. We also know the bomb didn't explode until  _after_  the plane took off." Kara could see Alex slowly understanding what she was saying, a look of realization appearing, mouth a little agape. "Alex, the bomber was on that plane," she proclaimed. Alex gasped silently, looking nowhere as the wheels turned inside her head. She didn't realize she was gripping Kara's warm tightly until Kara put her hand on hers, squeezing lightly. "Alex, we can find them. We just have to get the list of the passengers' names of the plane."

Alex looked up then, looking into Kara's eyes and felt the urge to be close to her, the closest possible. So she did the only thing she could think of and hugged her tightly, her head hidden in Kara's neck, Kara immediately reciprocating the hug. Cheek on top of Alex's head, Kara began gently rubbing her back, always trying to reassure her sister.

Loosening the hug, Alex put her hands on Kara's cheeks while Kara's hands traveled down on Alex's hips. "Kara," she said intensely, "You're a genius ! I mean, of  _course_  you are, super-intelligence and all that," she trailed off while Kara mumbled, surely complaining about the super-intelligence thing. "But you're a  _genius_  !" she exclaimed again. She put a hard kiss on Kara's forehead before letting go, Kara already missing her warmth. "We need to see Henshaw", she stated excited, vibrating with energy.

"Right," Kara agreed, nodding determined.

She suddenly registered Alex's outfit and felt like she couldn't breathe for a second, heart beating out of her chest. Alex was just dressed in DEO uniform, black polo and pants with her gun fastened to her right thigh, ready for use at any moment.  _That_  was a new look for her.  
Kara felt a mixture of fear, because that meant she was ready to fight, and of  _something_  she wasn't quite ready to name yet.

She shook her head a little, snapping out of her thoughts she definitely shouldn't have. As she looked up, she saw Alex waiting for her at the door, hand on the handle, eyebrow raised. "You coming ?" she teased.

Blushing, Kara cleared her throat. "Ye-Yeah, of course."  _Smooth_.

Alex smirked, used to Kara spacing out, held out the door opened as Kara walked out and closed it behind them.  
They walked to Henshaw's office and Alex didn't hesitate for a second before knocking.

"Come in," came the muffled voice.

Alex opened the door immediately and, once again, waited for Kara to come in before closing it behind them. "Sir," she nodded respectfully.

"Agent Danvers," he said back, sitting at his desk. He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, indicating them to sit as well.

Alex didn't waste time and started talking before she was seated. "Sir, we think we have another lead."

He raised his eyebrows at this new development. "That's good news," he said, surprised. "Because I can't seem to find a camera having a good angle of the crash site," he announced. "I'm, unfortunately, not the best with computers and I can't ask someone else. I would trust Agent Vasquez but that's not her specialty either."

"Oh..." Kara breathed, visibly disappointed, looking down. She felt a pressure on her knee and looked up to see Alex smiling at her, squeezing her knee gently to reassure her.

"That's okay," said Alex, still looking at Kara, before letting go and looking at Director Henshaw. "It's okay because Kara had a great idea," she stated proudly.

"I don't know about  _great idea_ ," Kara mumbled, embarrassed to be put in the spotlight, not used to it. Having to hide all of your abilities and having to blend in tended to make you go unnoticed and underappreciated. 

Alex rolled her eyes and kept talking like Kara didn't even speak. "The bomb, which is from Alien origin, needs an alien to detonate it." She paused, letting her Director time for the information to sink in. "Sir, they would have needed an alien on the plane to set it off," she declared.

Henshaw sit back on his seat, impressed. "That's... Well done Miss Danvers."

Kara's cheeks went pink. "That's- I'm not-" she wriggled her fingers together. "Thank you," she eventually said. She cast a glance in Alex's direction and could see the pride and love in her eyes, which made her blush even more. She reached for her glasses but came up empty and lamely scratched behind her ear, yet another nervous tic.

Alex cleared her throat to try and take the attention away from Kara. Which worked because Henshaw looked at Alex, expecting an elaboration of her previous statement, and Kara sent her a grateful look. "We would need to look at the list of the passengers and investigate from there. As an alien, the bomber would have a stolen identity or a shady one at the very least."

"Yes," Kara chimed in. "My cousin and I have forged ID documents. License driver, adoption papers, you name it. It's really well done, especially mine because Kal-El came before me, but you can see little flaws if you search far enough. It'll be a long investigation, but if the bomber was on that plane, we will find them," she concluded.

Alex nodded her agreement. "Can we ask Agent Vasquez to help us ? You said you trusted her," she asked.

Henshaw shook his head, putting his clasped hands on his desk. "No, she'll have a different mission." At Alex's eyebrow raised, he continued. "I would like her to assure your security until we catch the perps."

"My security, Sir ?" she scoffed. "I can defend myself, thank you very much," she said a little too harshly.

" _Alex_ ," Kara warned. "You do need protection." When Alex was going to counter that she didn't, Kara cut her off. "Alex, do you realize what it meant for this person to be on that plane to  _kill_  you ?" She paused, letting Alex trying to figure out where she was going with this. "He was prepared to die with you. He believed so much in their cause, whatever the heck it is, that he boarded that plane with the full intention of dying," she said, worked up now. "They're willing to sacrifice anything to reach their goal, and right now that goal is you. I'm not leaving out of my sight," she declared.

Alex was a little taken aback from all of this, she couldn't believe she didn't think about what it meant for the bomber. She frowned, not liking this. She couldn't even figure out why a group of people would want her dead  _this_  much. "I'm-" She shook her head, still trying to digest everything. "Fine", she finally conceded.

"Great !" exclaimed Kara, her somber expression disappearing in a second to show a bright smile instead. "It's settled then, you'll move in with me !"

Alex's head snapped back towards Kara. "Your place ? Come on, I don't need to be babysat by an agent  _and_  my sister," she said defensively, crossing her arms.

"Yes, you do," Kara countered, scowling. "I just told you I won't leave you out of my sight, I was being serious."

Alex sighed, pinching the base of her nose. "Fine. But we can't move in to your place Kara. If there's a mole, they know you're here and they know who you are. You apartment's not safe," she pointed out.

Kara's scowling deepened. "Oh, right. Well, we'll use one of your safe houses then," she said lightly, looking at Henshaw.

Alex looked at Henshaw, surprised Kara knew about those. He nodded. "We- Well,  _I_  will have one ready for you shortly. Go collect your things in your room and wait for Agent Vasquez and I there. I'll call her up to explain everything and we'll meet you there."

Both sisters nodded and got up to leave. As Alex reached for the handle, she turned her head to look at her Director. "Thank you for this, Sir."

He looked at her for a beat before looking back at his computer while grumbling a "You're welcome."

Kara and Alex shared a look, pursing their lips to hide a smile before leaving the room.

Packing their things was quick as they had nothing. Alex gave Kara a backpack so she could put her wrinkled and salted clothes in it and put her glasses back on her nose. It felt familiar in a situation which was anything but, it grounded her a little. Not as much as Alex but it helped nonetheless, lessening her super-hearing and super-vision.

Alex changed back into her clothes from before to avoid suspicion as she wouldn't leave the DEO with her uniform on if not for a mission. She still kept her gun though.

They sat on the bottom bed, next to each other in silence, waiting for Director Henshaw and Agent Vasquez. They didn't have to wait long as a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. They both stood up, Kara staying where she was while Alex went to open the door. She stepped aside to let them in and quietly closed the door, returning to her spot next to Kara.

"I got Agent Vasquez up to speed here," he began. "She agreed to help keep Agent Danvers safe at all cost. You'll have a safe house near Miss Danvers workplace, because she'll need to keep working, and if need be she'll be near the apartment." He raised a hand to stop Kara from talking. "It would be suspicious for you to stop working now, at the same time Agent Danvers stopped coming to the DEO," he calmly explained. It seemed to work because Kara slowly nodded. She didn't like but he was right. And Agent Vasquez will be there.

"Where will Agent Vasquez live ?" asked Alex.

"The safe house is more like a safe building, so she'll be at the apartment next door when Miss Danvers will be with you. When she's not there, Agent Vasquez will take over," he answered.

Alex wasn't thrilled at the idea of never being alone but she knew it was necessary. Well, always being with Kara never bothered her, but she knew Agent Vasquez was the quiet type and the silence  _will_ be uncomfortable. But she'll suck it up if it meant surviving, she wouldn't risk dying and leaving Kara alone. "Okay," nodded Alex.

Kara smiled, relieved she didn't put a fight. "Seems good."

"Okay," said Henshaw. "So, Agent Vasquez will drive you two to your new apartment," he announced.

"Um, what about my clothes ?" asked Kara.

"I also need clothes," Alex added.

Henshaw crossed his arms, thinking. "I'll allow Miss Danvers to go get her stuff from her place while Agent Vasquez drives Agent Danvers to the safe house where there will be some clothes. I don't think it'll fit your tastes Agent Danvers, but it's in your best interest to stay in, so the clothes won't be much of an issue. Though you can take more DEO clothes if you'd like, we have plenty."

Alex was this close to pouting, so Kara intervened. "We can't go back to your place Alex, they might be waiting for you, we can't risk it. Plus, you left some of your clothes at my place, I'll just take it with me," she reassured Alex.

"Okay, thanks," she smiled.

"Okay," Henshaw grunted, visibly irritated by Alex's priorities. He took out three phones from his pockets, handing them to Agent Vasquez, Alex and Kara. "Those phones are only for us four. The lines are completely safe and only we know of their existences. The phone numbers are already programmed in. Use it instead of your usual phones for the remaining of the mission," he instructed. 

They all nodded their understanding and took the phones before putting them away.

"Okay, that's it. We shall have no contact unless necessary," the Director announced. "We can't have the mole suspect something. I'll file a leave of absence form for Agent Danvers and will send Agent Vasquez to an undercover mission. No link between the two of you, that's safer." He paused, looking at them all. "Well, that's it. Take care, each of you. They're dangerous, and seem to know what they're doing, be on your toes, watch each other’s backs. Good luck Agents, Miss Danvers," he dipped his head in acknowledgment before leaving. 

And just like that, it was only Alex, Kara and Agent Vasquez in the room with a hole in the wall.

Kara recovered first, surprisingly, and extended her hand to the agent. "Agent Vasquez, nice to see you again. I'm glad you're the one Director Henshaw chose for this," she said warmly.

If Agent Vasquez was surprised at the personality of the younger Danvers, so different from the stoic and impassible one of Alex Danvers, she hid it well. "Nice to see you again and free, Ma'am," she answered, shaking her hand. "And you can call me Susan, Ma'am," she added.

Kara let her hand fall back at her side and smiled. "Well, if you're Susan then I'm Kara."

Susan nodded without another word, very professional.

"Okay, let's get going," said Alex, grabbing Kara's backpack and handing it to her. "We'll drop you off when arriving in town, we can't take you all the way to your place, just in case. I'll pay for the cab, I don't want you to fly or walk, it's not safe after the plane crash. Everyone will be looking for someone suspicious."

Kara put the backpack over her shoulder, ready to leave. "Okay," she nodded, agreeing with Alex's logic. "I'll be as fast as I can." At Alex's look, she quickly corrected herself. "Okay, not-not as quickly as I can actually can, just, you know, I'll be quick. But not  _too_  quick. Human quick, like- like Human people, like-" she rambled speedily.

Alex was just trying to keep a straight face through Kara's monologue, wanting to see how long she would keep it up, but a snort cut Kara off.

They both turned their heads to the direction of the laugh to see Agent Vasquez pursing her lips and looking mortified at having actually slipped. "So sorry, Ma'ams," she apologized promptly, back straight and hands behind her back.

Alex rolled her eyes. "At ease, Agent," she huffed. "Although this is a mission, we better keep it casual or we won't last long. I'm talking about our sanity," she half-joked.

Agent Vasquez hesitated for a couple of seconds, staring at Alex as if she was trying to see if she was serious. She finally relaxed when she saw Kara smiling encouragingly at her, and nodded. "Sorry. It was just the first time I've seen someone talking so fast for basically nothing," she admitted, a hint of a smile to show she didn't mean it in a bad way.

Kara became red, surely from head to toe, and hid her face into her hands. "I can't help it," she groaned, embarrassed. 

Patting her on the shoulder in sympathy, Alex laughed lightly. "You should be used to it by now," she teased. "I know I am. Though it never gets old." She looked at Agent Vasquez. "My game in life is timing how long she'll last if I don't interrupt her," she stage whispered.  

Kara looked up suddenly, staring at Alex with a look of betrayal. "You  _what_  ?" she gasped. "You're joking. Are you joking ? You must be joking," she said in disbelief. 

Alex laughed a little louder, shaking her head. "I'm really not. You actually came close to one full minute. Can you guess when it was ?" she asked, with a mischievous smile.

Kara took a second to think, and it was enough to remember the time. She didn't want to replay the entire scene in her head, her face already burning up with embarrassment. Let's just say it involved a bath and a door that  _someone_  forgot to lock.

Not wanting to humor Alex by answering her, she just  _lightly_  flicked her ear, but hard enough to hear a  _Ow, come on Kara !_  before turning to leave. She stopped by the door which she opened, and turned to look at Alex. "You coming ?" she asked at a stunned Alex, echoing Alex's earlier words.  _Oh, how the tables have turned_.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the last chapter in the DEO  
> Well, not last _last_ , but for now. 
> 
> Stay tuned for the next chapter, it'll be an interesting one  
> Thank you for all the support guys, I appreciate it so much !


	15. Worth it

The three of them made their way to the underground parking lot and took the car the Director gave them for the mission.  
It was weird for Kara to leave the base by car, driving through the desert. After twenty minutes, it made her realize just how far they were from the city.

"Do you drive here every morning ?" she asked Alex, curious.

She let out a sigh with a weary expression. "Yep. Every. Morning." Seeing the question in Kara's eyes, she continued talking. "Takes almost an hour. But that's okay, I can drive as fast as I can once in the desert, so it has its own kind of fun," she smirked.

Kara chuckled, not surprised. "Well, at least you enjoy it."

Alex smiled back at Kara before focusing once again on the road. Vasquez was the one driving but she wanted to watch their surroundings, always on the lookout.  
After a while, they arrived to the limits of the city and stopped to drop Kara off.

She got out and walked up to Alex's side, bending to talk to her at the window. "I'll take a cab from here, grab our things and join you," she said to Alex who had rolled down the window.

Alex nodded and gave her a piece of paper. "That's the address." She paused. "Be careful, please," she asked. They would be soon safe, or as safe as they could be, and she didn't want anything to happen to her sister while she wasn't there to protect her.

"Alex," she chuckled. "I can take care of myself," she said kind of smugly.

Shaking her head, Alex grabbed Kara's hand which was on the door to get her attention. "They have alien weapons Kara. Weapons that can hurt you. The sun beds are there for emergencies, please don't make me use it again," she pleaded, voice barely wavering in the end. But Kara caught it.

She squeezed back, staring into Alex's eyes to convey her earnestness. "I'll be careful, I promise. I'm taking this very seriously."

After a beat Alex seemed satisfied with her answer and nodded, giving Kara her hand back. "Text me when you leave. And when you're at your place. Just- Keep me updated, okay ?"

"Sure," Kara smiled, seeing the worried look on Alex's face.

She watched them drive away and breathed out, trying to remain calm. It was the first time she was alone, and away from Alex, since it all began. It made her anxious, well,  _more_  anxious than usual. She had severe anxiety issues, more obvious in their dire situation.  
She didn't let the feelings of dread and anxiousness stop her, she could let herself feel the weight of everything once at home, curled up on the couch with Alex. She had to stay strong for a little bit longer.

So she called a cab and waited near a café as it would have been suspicious for a woman to wait alone in the dark. A few minutes later it arrived and she got in, sending Alex a text telling her so. It was a ten minutes’ drive so she arrived quickly and darted out of the cab the moment it stopped, having given him the change before.  
She sped up the stairs, hearing no one near, and swiftly made her way into her apartment. 

She promptly closed the door behind her with her foot and didn't waste any time as she pulled out a big suitcase, put it opened on her bed and began gathering hers and Alex's clothes.   
She took several choices for her as she still had to work, and took everything Alex had at her place, which wasn't a whole lot. She added their toiletries and a fluffy blanket, because that's what they  _needed_.

She was going to close the suitcase but paused, thinking for a moment. They were going to spend days, maybe weeks or months in this safe house, feeling worried and scared, always looking behind their backs. She didn't want to spend this time in a cold, non-decorated apartment that belonged to neither of them.

So she decided to take a few memories with her, just to make this safe house a little homier, even if she always felt at home with Alex. In a safe house, in a deserted warehouse, in their little tree house in Midvale, anywhere was home with Alex.  
She wanted to forget about their situation while at home though, so a few more items definitely wouldn't hurt.

She took a few pictures out from her box of memories, mostly ones with Alex on it, placing them carefully in the suitcase and stopped, hesitating.   
She didn't look at them often, but just knowing they were near made her feel better, made her feel like Krypton was still fresh in her memory. So she turned and took the two most important paintings she made, one of the landscape of Argo City, and one of her parents. She painted them so much when she arrived at the Danvers that their faces were almost as good as reality. 

She closed the suitcase and tucked the paintings under her arm, grateful to be tall and to have long arms, and cast one last glance over her apartment. She loved it. It was Alex's before it was hers, and she could see little reminders of that fact all around the place. A little dent here, a burnt mark there... Well, some were hers but, come on,  _most_  of it were Alex's of course.

She inhaled deeply, silently saying goodbye to her place, for a while anyway, and put her hand on the handle to open the door.  
She suddenly felt a buzzing and reacted immediately, out of the window less than a millisecond later while she felt the warmth of the explosion graze her back.

She didn't stop flying until she was high enough to be concealed by the clouds, looking down on the catastrophe that just took place. She just stared at the flames, feeling numb, reality feeling so far away.  
She heard people screaming, saw them pulling out their phones to film everything, felt the wind on her face, but everything was distant, barely there.

When she heard her phone ring however, it brought her out of her inner turmoil and pulled it ouf from her back pocket.  
It was a text from Alex, telling her to keep her updated.  
She took a deep breath, her eyes tingling, and carefully texted back, saying she would be there soon. She couldn't tell Alex yet, otherwise she would fall to pieces right then and there, and she couldn't afford to waste any time. She had to be with Alex as soon as possible.

She flew for a few miles, distancing herself from the commotion, and quietly landed in an  _another_  dark alley before calling for another cab.  
As soon as it got there, she got into the car, putting her stuff next to her and telling the driver the address.

She closed her eyes, her head against the window, trying to think about Alex only. Everything was worth it, losing everything was worth it if it meant Alex was safe.  
The small vibrations of the window kept her tethered to the present. She kept up her breathing exercises, resulting in several odd looks from the driver, but it kept her calm nonetheless. 

She felt like it was a lifetime later that the cab stopped, giving her the total to pay. She gave him the money, awkwardly took her belongings and got out of the cab. He drove away immediately, leaving her alone on the curb in the dark.  
She stayed that way for a moment, rooted in her spot, just breathing in the fresh air.

She heard a honk in the distance which startled her and pulled her out of her thoughts. She tended to space out during particularly hard times, so it wasn't surprising it happened a couple of times in the last thirty minutes.  
She shook her head to clear her mind and took her phone out, texting Alex to say that she was in front of the building.

Less than a minute later, Alex exited the building with Agent Vasquez in tow. Alex's steps faltered when she saw Kara's eyes, and sped walked to her, taking the paintings and suitcase to put them down and take Kara in her arms.

They didn't talk as Alex hugged her, Alex giving Kara silent comfort. When she heard Vasquez shifting behind her, she loosened the hug but kept one arm around Kara's shoulder, squeezing gently. Kara was sill quiet.  
Vasquez already took the suitcase but had trouble with the paintings, so Alex took one of them.

They quietly walked up the stairs, Vasquez in front of them to give them a semblance of privacy in what looked like a tense moment.  
Once at their door, Vasquez just put the suitcase next to it with the painting. "Good night Ma'am's," she softly said, retreating into her own apartment, leaving them both alone.

Alex wordlessly opened the door and let Kara in, pulling the suitcase with her with the paintings under her arms. She didn't have arms as long as Kara's but she was more dexterous. She put them own gently next to the door, and turned to see Kara, back turned to her, hugging herself as if trying to keep from falling apart. She heard a sniff and sprung into action.  _Cautiously_.

She slowly closed the distance, carefully going in front of Kara as to not startle her in her current state. "Kara ?" she softly tried, hesitantly touching her hand.

Kara sniffed again, trying hard for a few seconds to keep the tears in, but finally gave in and let the floodgates open wide. She collapsed into Alex's arms without warning, Alex catching her easily, resulting in a big bear hug. " _Oh_   _sweetie_ ," she whispered worriedly, rubbing soothingly Kara's back.   
She slowly walked them to the couch, sitting down as gently as possible, Kara looking so breakable in that moment.

She had red puffy eyes, tears running down her cheeks endlessly and had trouble breathing because of the sobbing.  
They stayed in that position, Kara in Alex's arms, Alex rocking them both gently in a calming way, for a long while.

Alex wondered what happened to have Kara in this state, it's been a while since she cried this much. She was always smiling brightly, no matter what happened, so it was easy to forget. Forget Kara didn't have an easy life, that she suffered from anxiety and PTSD and that she wore a mask for everyone. Everyone but Alex. Alex didn't forget.  
She guessed seeing her apartment, knowing she wouldn't come back for a while, made her feel sad, which would explain the paintings she took.  
She kept whispering  _it's gonna be okay_  every other minute, Kara only whimpering back.

After a while, Kara wasn't crying anymore, just periodically sniffed, calmer than before. "Are you okay ?" Alex whispered, trying to not break the silence.

Kara silently nodded against Alex's chest, tightening her hold around her waist. Alex waited a few minutes, letting Kara recover from her slight melt down. She was rewarded a moment later. "It's gone," Kara croaked, voice strained from all the crying.

Alex frowned, not following. "What's gone ?"

Inhaling deeply to stop herself from crying again, Kara closed her eyes. "Everything," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Confused, Alex straightened a little, loosening her hold and putting a little distance between them to see Kara's face. "What do you mean ?"

Her eyes still watery, she sniffed again before a single tear fell. "There was a-an explosion," she sniffed again and Alex's muscles immediately tensed, but she let Kara speak. "I got out right be-before..." She bit her lower lip to swallow back a sob, rubbing angrily her eyes to wipe away her tears.

Alex abruptly stood up, feeling like her heart wasn't in her rib cage anymore because she didn't feel anything for a couple of seconds, before it all came back. Then she felt like her heart was going to leap  _out_  of her chest, and felt nauseous. She left Kara for less than an hour and she almost didn't see her again. And it was her own fault.

Kara silently watched her from her seated position, letting Alex digest everything.

Alex's muscles began aching after a few minutes because of how tense she was. "You're trembling," Kara said softly, snapping her out of it.

She looked Kara dead in the eyes and didn't miss a beat. "How ?" Her voice was hard, vocalizing her tensity.

Kara scrunched up her nose in confusion, brows furrowing. "I don't-"

" _How_ , Kara ? What happened exactly ?" she asked again, her voice hard as she tried to remain somewhat poised.

Kara flinched a little at the harsh voice of Alex. "I'm not-" she began, shaking her head and trying to remember details she was too shaken to remember before. "I just got home and closed the door behind me... And quickly thrown the suitcase on the bed and put our clothes in it," she recounted, the Crinkled appearing because she was concentrated.

Alex nodded slowly, wheels turning inside her head, trying to imagine Kara doing everything, when a thought came to her. "How did you escape ?"

"I flew..." she said slowly, frowning, but Alex was already shaking her head no.

"No, how did you know ? I mean, you have soot on your back and face, so it must have been a close call," she elaborated, taking a deep breath as she realized how actually  _close_  she has been to never see her sister again.

"Oh, I felt the same buzzing as the one I felt with the other bomb," she explained.  _This_  she remembered clearly.

Alex quickly sat down again close to Kara, frantic. "When ?" she asked hurriedly.

"Um, when I put my hand on the handle," she answered, realization hitting her as she spoke the words. She gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "The bomb was the  _handle_ ," she said in disbelief.

Eyebrows furrowed in displeasure, Alex nodded. "I think so. But I don't know why it didn't detonate when you closed the door coming in then," she said pensively.

"I closed it with my foot in my haste," Kara admitted. "I wanted to hurry, I didn't like being far from you, especially with everything that's happening..." She didn't realize she was nervously wringing her fingers until Alex clasped her hands in hers, rubbing her knuckles with her thumb. "But I took the time to take my favorite paintings and some pictures, I wanted to make this place a little more homey. I thought I would have time to go back and get the rest, but n-now it's all  _gone_ ," she sniffed loudly.

She looked up to see a look of anguish on Alex's face when she softly called her name. "Kara, I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I should have come with you, I should have protected you," she apologized rapidly, barely breathing between sentences. "I'm so sorry Kara, I should have-"

She stopped when Kara squeezed her hands a little harder than comfortable. "You have nothing to be sorry for Alex,  _nothing_ ," she stressed. "It would have happened either way, and I may not have been able to get you out in time. I'm glad you were safe here. I don't want anything to happen to you, I want you safe, always," she said fiercely.

Alex was breathing hard, trying to keep calm, mainly for Kara. She stared at her for a few seconds, trying to believe her. She searched her face, looking for even a shadow of doubt but there was none, her eyes never wavering.   
But Kara believing what she said didn't mean she was right, didn't mean... She shook her head lightly, looking down at her lap. "I'm not worth it Kara," she whispered, almost inaudible. But Kara heard it loud and clear.

It was always a big issue for her, and admitting it out loud was both terrifying and liberating. Kara knew she felt that way, but she never said it in so many words.

She felt cold when Kara let go of her hands, but warmth spread through her cheeks when Kara grabbed her face, this intense look still on her face, staring into her eyes. "You  _are_  worth it Alex, you're worth everything. I don't want any of this if you're not here to share it with," she boldly asserted. "I can't- I can't lose you Alex, I won't."  
The breaking in her voice at her last words made Alex's eyes water and the tears immediately fell, her bottom lip quivering.  
Kara pulled her into her chest, soothingly stroking her hair. "I love you Alex," she added softly. 

It was odd, taking turn comforting one another in such a short amount of time. Usually, one would spend an entire evening comforting the other over a broken heart, or in Kara's most common case, a broken item at work or an important one at home.  
However, this wasn't a normal situation. So it was odd, but it didn't feel odd, almost natural. They were always there for one another and that was just the proof.   
Kara always thought she'd risk her life for Alex, but now she  _knew_  she'd risk her life for her. She also knew she'd die for her. And she suspected Alex felt the same, working at the DEO all these years for  _her_.

She didn't realize she fell asleep, but suddenly Alex jerked awake and her head shot up, looking in every direction, feeling confused as to where she was. She heard grumbling from underneath her and looked down to see Kara sprawled on her back, her right arm dangling from the couch, grazing the floor. "Come back to bed," she tiredly mumbled.

Alex chuckled quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind Kara's ear. "We gotta get you to bed first," she whispered. Kara just buried her face into the cushions, clearly not wanting to move and Alex quietly sighed, amused. At least  _that_  hasn't changed. "Come on, we can cuddle in bed," she added, her secret weapon.  
At that, Kara's head peeked out from the couch, a little drool at the corner of her mouth. Alex snorted, not being able to keep this one in, finding Kara just too adorable. "Fly a little so I can bring you easily," she whispered.

Happy to be taken care of with the promise of cuddles with Alex, she let herself float a little, weighting nothing more than a couple of pies. Pies were the base unit of the International System of Units, were they not ?

Alex just dragged her effortlessly to their room and lovingly tucked her in, kissing her softly on her forehead as Kara hummed happily.  
She smiled softly at her so strong, so delicate little sister and promptly slipped under the covers.

As promised, Kara immediately closed the distance and wrapped Alex in a koala hold, burying her face into her neck instead of the cushion. Alex was far more comfortable, that was no question.

They quickly fell asleep, the weight of the past events knocking them out.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know... I'm evil, taking Kara's things and memories away from her like that.  
> I don't really have anything to say for myself.
> 
> I hope you still enjoyed this chapter though !
> 
> Leave a comment to tell me what you thought about it :)


	16. Granted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, big update guys. Thank you for sticking with me through this first fic, means a lot to me. Thank you for the kudos and comments, it really motivates me. 
> 
> Well, enjoy !

Hot. She was feeling so  _hot_. Everywhere she looked, there were flames. Flames coming from the explosion, surrounding her. She was looking for something, or  _someone_ , but she couldn't focus. She was hot and so scared, and she felt she was running out of time, so she couldn't waste any. She took a deep breath and ran through the flames with her arms barely covering her sweaty face and hair.

Her throat was dry and burned, and her eyes stung but unable to produce tears. She kept looking around, the place falling apart around her, still looking for the thing that was missing. She knew she  _had to_  find it, not matter what. Felt this emptiness in her chest and somehow knew she wouldn't be able to fill it without what or who she was looking for.

So she kept looking until it became too hot and she could barely breathe, still trying to shout over the crackling of the fire. "Hey, is someone there ?" she screamed, voice raw and hurting.

Suddenly, she saw a blurry shape on the ground, unmoving, and ran towards the unknown.  
She bent down to avoid a falling beam, and quickly resumed her run.

Upon arriving in front of the silhouette, she immediately recognized the person lying there, face covered by soot and dried blood. "Kara !" she gasped loudly.

She felt like she couldn't breathe, couldn't inhale, could only exhale. Blinking rapidly, she tried to get her vision clear because it was all still blurry.

She startled, suddenly feeling a warmth on her cheek, and heard a soft murmur. "Alex ?"

Still feeling confused, she could only blink repeatedly and try to control her breathing, still erratic, heart beating so loudly it hurt. Then, she felt a slight pressure on the same cheek and turned her head to see what was happening.

The first thing she really saw was an intense, deep blue. A blue she'd recognize anywhere. "Kara ?" she asked weakly, disoriented.

"Yeah, it's me," she said, a little hesitant. Kara stroked gently Alex's cheek, staring intensely into her eyes, visibly worried. "You had a nightmare," she whispered. "Sorry about your cheek, I kind of pinched you to make you... come back," she added sheepishly. 

Alex felt the need to sniff and realized she was crying.  _That's why it was all blurry_. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of the tears and the memories that she knew would haunt her for a long time. She put her head into her hands, elbows resting on her knees.

"Sorry," she croaked, voice raw from screaming and crying. "What time is it ?" she added, noticing the room was dark.

Fingers buried into her messy hair, she felt sweat all over her, drenched because of her nightmare. And because of Kara's body temperature she reminded herself. She was taking deep breaths, trying to calm down, her heart still beating wildly. 

"It's still night time. And you have nothing to be sorry about," came the soft reply, along with a soothing rubbing on her back. After a silence, Kara hesitantly asked "Do you want to talk about it ?" She paused when Alex didn't answer. "I heard you say my name... You sounded so scared," she whispered, sadness written all over her face.

Alex peeked through her bent arm, trying to gauge Kara's emotions. She didn't really need to see her to know usually, but right now her own emotions were so high and mixed up that she needed to cheat a little.  
She saw the clear worry and uncertainty on her face, hesitant on what to do now that their places were reversed. Alex was normally the one comforting Kara after her nightmares, murmuring soft words and giving her ice cream until she fell asleep again in her arms.

She sighed, straightening a little and sat back against the headboard, head falling backwards while she looked at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking back at Kara. "It's just- after yesterday, I'm really afraid to lose you..." she admitted. She wasn't going to go into the details of the nightmare, there was no need to worry Kara further.

Kara nodded in understanding, having guessed what her nightmare has been about after hearing her calling out her name. She took her hand and squeezed lightly, making Alex feel her presence. "I'm okay. I've got mad reflexes," she joked weakly, before going back to being serious. "Alex, I'm going to be careful. I won't leave you," she solemnly swore, staring intensely into Alex's eyes.

"I know," said Alex, looking down at their hands.

"Come on," whispered Kara, tugging Alex's hand. "Let's go back to sleep." When Alex turned to face Kara, Kara smirked. "Nope," she just said, turning back Alex so that her back was against Kara's front. Alex huffed and rolled her eyes but was silently pleased Kara understood she just needed to be held, especially by the person she dreamed was dead.

They shuffled a little, finding a comfortable position for both of them, Kara's left arm around Alex's waist, and her right one under her neck. Alex's left hand found Kara's above her stomach, and her right one also found Kara's in front of her face. Being able to see they intertwined fingers relaxed her, as well as feeling Kara's breath on her nape.

Kara's body warmth, hotter than Humans, loosened the tension she felt in her muscles. She slowly fell asleep while Kara softly brushed against her fingertips with her own with a feather-like touch.

 

* * *

 

 

She slowly woke up, quietly groaning as she stretched her sore muscles, feeling the sensitive ribs moving along her movements.   
She looked at her side and smiled at the sight before her, Kara still asleep with her trademark drool on the corner of her mouth slightly opened while she snored silently. 

After falling back asleep in Kara's arms, she had a restful and dreamless sleep and couldn't be more grateful. Having Kara as a sister was surely the best thing that could happen to her, or to anyone, and she felt blessed to be the one being the closest to Kara. It was like a privilege, because Kara didn't let anyone in, not really, so Alex was the only one to really know and accept her.  
Of course there was Eliza, and she was great with Kara, but she didn't feel like she could honestly open up to her because she felt like a burden. She already took Jeremiah from her.

At first she felt like she could share everything with this new family. With this  _full_ , happy family. But by the time she got a little better, gotten mostly used to being on Earth and being near Humans, Jeremiah died. In this moment, everything shifted, everything changed.  
Eliza tried not to show her sadness, tried being strong for her daughter that just lost her father, and strong for her adopted daughter that just recently lost her whole world.  
But they would catch glimpses of sadness and anger through a cracked mask she carefully wore all the time.

From then on, Eliza radically changed. She didn't seem to realize it though, but the whole dynamic changed in the house. It wasn't a house where you could be honest anymore.  
Always had to hide your powers, or your sadness. Before, that was only for the outsiders. Before, you could be yourself when in the house, surrounded by family.  
But after her husband's death, Eliza forbade any use of powers. It was like if she didn't acknowledge it, it didn't exist, therefor couldn't hurt them.

Alex changed too, withdrew a lot, spending her time alone locked in her room. Of course, it was also Kara's room, and even after the tragedy, she couldn’t lock her out. Especially after they became close, just before her dad's death. It was like everything happened at once.  
So Kara also spent her time locked in their room, silently sitting on her bed while Alex did the same on her own bed. After a while though, Kara began to come closer, offering her comfort through her presence.  
At first, she only sat on the floor, back against her bed. Then, she laid down, her head closer to Alex's bed.  
Gradually, inch by inch, she edged closer to Alex. And Alex let her, appreciating the closeness without having to ask for it, not having the strength to. Until one day, they found themselves in Alex's bed, shoulder to shoulder, while Alex actually talked about her father for the first time since the tragedy.

And for the first time, Kara didn't resent Rao for what happened to her because that meant she could relate to what Alex was feeling, could comfort her and honestly say she understood. She didn't know it, but Alex secretly felt the same, and they both felt guilty about it.  
From that moment, they became inseparable. Alex lost her father but gained the most important person in her life. And though Kara lost her adoptive father she knew for just a year or so, she felt like the universe finally apologized by giving her another reason to live.  _Alex_.

So Alex was the only person she was a hundred percent honest with. Her other friends, well, Winn, was still mostly kept in the dark. He only knew she was adopted because they knew each other from the beginning of her career as Miss Grant's assistant, and knew about Alex of course because she constantly talked about her. But he really didn't know anything else. Still, he fell in love with her kindness and dorky humor in less than a minute.

Alex tried to show her love too, tried to open up to Kara. It wasn't easy, she got used to keeping things close to the vest because of Eliza, but she still made efforts, for Kara.

A deep inhale took her out of her deep thoughts and she watched as Kara adorably squeezed her eyes shut while furrowing her eyebrows and buried her head into the the pillow. She then stretched her arms above her head, apparently too sleepy to even notice she slightly splintered the headboard with her hands, then curled up, edging sleepily closer to Alex.

"Hey sleepy head," greeted Alex, whispering as to not disturb the comfortable silence.

"Mornin'," mumbled Kara, putting her head on Alex's left shoulder, sighing happily. 

Alex smiled down at Kara, content. Even after her nightmare, waking up next to Kara was enough put her at ease. "Wanna get breakfast ?"

Her eyes still heavy with sleep suddenly became alert, a happy smile stretching her rosy lips. "Yes !"

Chuckling, Alex waited for Kara to release her from her hold to get up, immediately making the bed. Kara silently helped her with her own side of the bed, yawning lazily as she made her way out of the bedroom, Alex following closely.

The bedroom door lead directly to the living room, with an open kitchen on the right, near the front door, not unlike Alex's place. Though Alex's apartment was bigger, this one could quickly become more homey if they put personal stuff around.

But Kara didn't give the apartment a second glance, just went straight for the kitchen, Alex still trailing behind.

"Sit, I'll make pancakes," said Alex, making her way into the kitchen, going through the drawers and the cupboards, taking the ingredients out.

While she busied herself preparing the batter, she saw Kara intently watching her out of the corner of her eyes and she sighed. "I'm okay Kara, really."

Kara startled, evidently surprised to have been made, thinking she was being sneaky.  _Sure._  "Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed. "I'm still worried, I don't think I ever heard you scream like that," she admitted, looking at her hands before looking up to Alex who was still mixing the ingredients. 

Alex sighed with a soft smile, happy to have someone that cared so much. "I know, I'm sorry I scared you. It's just- everything just kinda caught up to me you know. But we're safe here," she declared. "We'll eat breakfast, spend a lazy morning in, together. Then we're going to talk with Vasquez about the explosion."

Letting out a long sigh, Kara dropped her head into her crossed arms on the kitchen counter. "Do we have to ? I don't wanna talk about it," she mumbled.

She felt a pressure on her shoulder and looked up to see Alex leaning over the counter, her hand on Kara's shoulder. "I know sweetie," she softly said. "We just have to get through this to move forward."

Kara watched Alex for a few seconds before resting her cheek against Alex's hand on her shoulder, closing her eyes. "I know."

She smiled when she felt Alex awkwardly trying to brush her fingers against her cheek in the weird position she was in, and freed her by straightening her head up.

With a final squeeze, Alex let go and went back to the food.  
Pouring the batter into frying pan, she quietly hummed a song, dancing a little. Kara chuckled, shaking her head. "I forgot you did that."

"Did what ?" she asked without looking up.

"Dance when you're cooking. You so rarely cook that I forgot..." she teased with a smirk.

"How  _dare_ you ?" Alex scoffed, putting her hand over her heart. "I won't allow you to talk to me that way while I'm feeding you."

She had a glint in her eyes that Kara took a little too long to make out, resulting in her having her face full of batter. She spit a little the batter out of her mouth, surprised Alex would  _waste_ food like that !"Wha- What are you  _doing_?" she spluttered. 

Alex just laughed at Kara's face, which was a mixture of red from the surprise and the color of the batter. "You face !" she laughed harder.

A smile tugged at Kara's lips, eyes sparkling, happy to see Alex laugh so much. It hasn't been an easy couple of days, and definitely not as easy life overall. If she could draw out this moment, this happy, carefree and easy moment, she would. So that's what she did.

With a mischievous smirk she grabbed the bowl of batter and hugged it close to her chest, slowly moving away from a now outraged Alex. "That's cheating !" she complained. 

Her smirk staying in place, Kara shook her head. "Nope," she said, accentuating the last syllable. "I didn't use super-speed, you were just too busy  _mocking_ me to notice my sneakiness."

Alex took a defensive stance, ready to fight to the death, but a snort came out. "Sneakiness ? Please. Without you powers- you know what,  _even_ with your powers you can't be sneaky. Oh boy, did you try. E for effort Kar," she teased, though it was all true. 

Kara just huffed, minimally hurt by Alex's claims.  _She could be sneaky._  She squinted in mock concentration, trying to intimidate Alex,  _trying_ being the key word here. She squatted a little, ready to pounce, a big grin on her face.

Seeing Kara coming from a mile away, Alex internally rolled her eyes and jumped to the side, effectively avoiding Kara's attack.  
She rolled to the side, already on her feet, ready for the next attack. She still flinched at the movement, having forgotten about her ribs.

True, while her plan has not been flawless, she still thought it wouldn't go terribly. Well. It... didn't, not really. Kinda.   
While she thought about her apparently faulty plan, she just kept on sliding some egg Alex dripped while cooking.   
She crashed into the wall next to the front door, not too far from her paintings, but didn't actually break anything because she didn't put strength into her jump to avoid hurting Alex.

All of the scene undoubtedly made Alex laugh even harder, tears accumulating in her eyes before falling on the floor because Alex was doubled over with laughter.

Kara pouted, her bottom lip popping out, while she looked at the slight mess she made.   
It wasn't  _that_ bad, the bowl just broke in two, clean, no shards of glass everywhere, just a little of the mix on the floor and on Kara's head. Unsurprising as she was currently back to the wall, legs in the air while she carried her weight on the top of her back, with her being upside down like a darn bat.

How she saved the bowl from complete destruction was, as Alex guessed, sheer luck, but Kara will deny it until her dying breath.  
She was a little hurt by the failure of her attack  _and_ Alex's clear mockery, so she decided to take one last try.

Swiftly getting up, flying a little to help the process, she got ready to strike again.  
While Alex was still laughing, though significantly less than before, she noticed Kara's stance and sobered up rather quickly, sensing the danger. 

"Kara," she said shakily, traces of laughter still in her voice. "Kara, don't," she warned, actually a bit scared for her cleanliness. A Kara playing was funny and a worthy opponent, but an embarrassed Kara was downright dangerous, capable of beating Alex at her own game.

Kara smirked at the fear she found on Alex's face, and ran, laughing evilly.  
Alex caught Kara's wrists that threatened to drop the rest of the batter on Alex's hair. Now, Alex wasn't shallow, she didn't care about her appearance, but she knew, thanks to her shared childhood with some annoying alien, that batter was a  _bitch_ to wash out.

Kara put a little pressure on Alex's hands, slowly and so carefully raising the bowl over Alex's head, tipping it just a bit.  
In doing so, Kara found herself almost flushed against Alex and she didn't think it was a good idea, not a good one  _at all._

Both holding the broken bowl over Alex's head, their breaths caught at their sudden closeness. Kara knew she had to look away, but she couldn't find in herself to make the tremendous effort it would take her, so she just kept staring into Alex's  _beautiful_ eyes.   
For her part, Alex was feeling a little unsettled, not used to feeling what she was currently feeling. She didn't know what it was, or why she felt it, and couldn't really think about it because of their closeness. Everything about this moment was so  _confusing._

She noticed Kara's eyes getting darker and that the was minutely getting closer, seemingly not even noticing it.  
Her heart was beating wildly, trying to fly out of her chest, her head pulsing slightly, when the moment broke because of a loud,  _loud_  sound.

She watched as Kara came back to normal, blinking as if suddenly remembering where she was, and her face flushed red  _fast_.  
She couldn't help the snort that came out, laughing at Kara's embarrassment because her stomach growled, like it didn't happen a million times before. Kara dropped the bowl, almost falling on Alex's face but only grazed her, finding the floor with a loud thud in the now deafening silence.

Kara quickly stepped back, back colliding with the counter in her haste, face even redder than before as she realized what she was actually going to do. She turned around to hide the look of horror she knew she had, hands gripping tightly the table, barely holding back her strength to avoid completely destroying it.

She tried to stay calm but felt like her feelings were completely out in the open. She was mortified. 

Glancing quickly over her shoulder, she said "Sorry, I'll take a shower to wash the batter off." After that, she promptly left, leaving a even more confused Alex behind her. 

After a good twenty minutes, Kara finally came out of the bathroom, hesitantly coming to the kitchen which was once again clean.

"You should have waited for me to clean everything," she said, chuckling nervously, fiddling with her glasses now back on her nose.

Alex frowned at Kara's awkwardness.  The way her nose scrunched up when she laughed made the glasses rise a little, but as adorable as it was, it wasn't going to distract Alex. "I was going to, but you took longer than I thought so I just did it..." she said slowly, still frowning, not understanding Kara's behavior.

Kara kept looking away, before looking at Alex and looking away again. "Ye-Yeah, I was just, you know, getting used to the new shower," she lamely explained, now looking at her nails.

"Right," Alex drawled, not buying any of it. She crossed her arms over her chest, a habit she got when she felt vulnerable. And right now she did, because Kara wasn't her normal self and she knew it was about her somehow. "So, wanna tell me what's bothering you ?" she asked bluntly.

Kara's head snapped up, looking like a deer in the headlights. "What ? No-nothing," she sputtered, not even hoping that she was convincing. She sighed, looking away once again, crossing her arms as well, unknowingly imitating Alex. "I just- I don't know, I feel weird lately," she admitted honestly, still not saying the whole truth. "And with everything happening, I- I'm not sure how to just- just  _be_. And I'm scared," she confessed, feeling lighter than she thought she would be without telling Alex  _everything._  Well, she couldn't really tell her everything as herself didn't really understand.

Alex's confused look morphed into an understanding one, switching into big sister's mode and immediately came closer to Kara who was now hugging herself as she felt vulnerable, very much like the night before.

"Hey," called out softly Alex, hugging Kara. "It's okay to be uncertain about some things, I can be too," she said calmly. "Whatever you're feeling is valid, and I'll accept you no matter what. You can tell me anything, you know that, right ? But if you want to keep this to yourself, if you're not ready, that's okay too. I'll be there anyway, annoying you with my constant presence." She pulled away, staring into Kara's eyes and slowly, gently removed her glasses. "You don't have to hide with me."

Kara felt a soft smile appear slowly on her face, her heart bursting with love. She buried her face into Alex's neck, her favorite place, and squeezed a last time before pulling away, smiling at Alex's open face. "I know, thank you."

When she understood Kara wasn't going to say any more, she nodded before putting a soft kiss on her forehead. "Okay. Now, let's go eat," she said as she took Kara's hand, tugging her towards the kitchen.

Which was only about five steps further. As Alex was going to the side of the kitchen where the hotplates were, Kara stopped her by gripping her hand tighter and made her sit down where she sat before. "I'll do it, you already cleaned everything," she asserted, secretly feeling guilty for  _feeling_  earlier. And before. And after.

Alex gave Kara an impressed look as Kara cooked even less than Alex. Kara rolled her eyes seeing Alex's look. "What ? You don't cook," she said defensively, raising her hands in mock surrender. 

"I can make pancakes, thank you very much," she huffed. "If you can remember, I made you pancakes before," she said as she made another mix, the other one wasted  _and_ not enough to begin with. 

Alex actually took a moment to think, trying to remember Kara with a frying pan in her hand. She inhaled suddenly, thinking she remembered, but by the lack of speech and the scowl, it was a false alert. Kara squinted at her, using super-speed to mix everything together. She was getting  _really_ hungry.

A minute later, Alex blurted out a "Ah !", like a revelation hit her. "When Bobby and I broke up in high school, you  _tried_ to make me breakfast. Is that what it was ?"

Kara wrinkled her nose, not even taking offense at Alex's little dig. "Ugh,  _Bobby,_ " she said in obvious distaste.  

Teasing forgotten (though it wasn't really teasing, she really never figured out what Kara tried to make that day), Alex's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What ?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Kara glanced at Alex. " _What_ what ?" she asked almost absentmindedly, look returning at the food cooking.

Alex huffed impatiently. "The way you said his name. You didn't like him or something ?"

Angrily flapping over the pancake, Kara scowled at Alex. "Of course not, he  _dumped_ you. How stupid could he be ?"

Alex's eyebrows didn't lower from the moment Kara repeated Bobby's name. "Um, he didn't dump me,  _I_ did," Alex said slowly, watching Kara's expressions.

Kara froze, eyes glued to the pancakes on the plate. "You did ? But you seemed so upset, I thought..." Kara trailed off, thinking back.

Alex sighed. "No, I did. He said something I didn't like so I ditched his ass," she said casually, shrugging. 

"What ? What did he say ?" she quickly asked, ready for a fight.

But Alex just shook her head. "I'm not going to repeat his vile words, no use to force me Kara," she warned.

The truth was that  _Bobby_ insulted young Kara when she was still trying to find her footing into this new world, full of fear and grief. Alex wasn't able to stop herself and actually punched him in the nose, effectively breaking it  _and_  shutting him up. He never walked close to either of the Danvers again after that, quickly looking away if he accidentally made eye contact. Alex had been rather proud of herself, avoiding detention too as he was too scared to tell anybody.

Kara huffed, visibly displeased at being denied something from Alex that usually never held anything like that back from her. "Fine. Keep you secrets," she said with the hint of a smirk.

"Okay", Alex nonchalantly said back, shrugging one shoulder while looking at her nails. 

Kara groaned loudly, just to let the frustration out before sliding over a plate of pancakes to Alex. She finished cooking her own pile, as high as a mountain, and sat next to Alex, happily munching her food, anger forgotten.  _Thank you, food._

After breakfast, they cuddled on the couch watching Netflix, as promised.  
After a couple oh hours, Alex stretched her arms above her head while Kara stifled a yawn. "Want to do something else ?" Alex asked.

"Like what ? We can't really go out," recalled sadly Kara.

"We could hang your paintings," proposed Alex, trying to cheer Kara up.

It worked as her whole face lit up, happy with offer. "Yeah, I'd like that," she answered with a smile. "I also have some pictures," she added with a bright smile as she got up to go get them.

"Great, go grab them," said Alex with a fond smile.

Her smile widened when she saw that most of the pictures were of them both, smiling happily at each other. "There, that's all I took," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and Alex knew she thought of everything she lost.

"Hey," Alex said, gently grabbing Kara's hand. "I know you can't replace everything you lost, but maybe we can try ?"

With her Crinkle in its place, Kara was visibly confused. "I'm not going to buy everything I lost Alex. Plus, it's okay, it's just stuff."

But Alex was already shaking her head no. "I meant your paintings," she said softly. "We can try repainting them ?" she offered hesitantly. "I mean, I saw them a bunch of times and I saw you paint Krypton over and over again when you first arrived, so I thought..." she trailed off, now unsure of herself, worried it would only somehow hurt Kara. Seeing tears in Kara's eyes made her backpedal quickly. "I'm- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- We don't have to, you know, remake them, I know it's not the same and-"

Seeing Kara smile through her tears made her stop, and waited for Kara to say something. "That's a great idea Alex, thank you," she honestly murmured, sniffing and wiping away the few tears that fell.

Alex smiled shyly and took a picture to distract herself for a moment. They were pressed against each other, cheek to cheek, smiling wildly with the beach behind them, hair floating because of the wind.   
The beach in Midvale was their safe place. They had a few safe places, such as the roof of their house, or the tree house, but the beach was different. Eliza and Jeremiah didn't follow them there, and they couldn't be overheard at the place they chose.   
The roof was freeing, with the sky above them and cool air around, but Kara would often stop speaking suddenly and Alex knew her parents were within ear shot. During those moments, interrupted in listening to Kara's life before them, just would just look back at the sky and point out some constellation Kara didn't know.   
The tree house was another story. It was their own little house, high enough to be free to talk about anything. But it was confining, the shed quickly becoming to small for them, and the roof prevented them to be able to see the open sky.  
So the beach was their favorite, open and wide, away from their house, the scent of the ocean dancing around them. Day or night, their little spot behind a dune was always clear of people, giving them the privacy they wanted,  _needed._

"I loved that beach," suddenly said Kara.

Alex glanced at her, seeing her staring at the picture with a faraway look. "Yeah," she murmured. "Me too. I miss it."

Kara looked up with a soft smile. "We should go back. We haven't seen Eliza for a while, she'd be happy to see us. And we could enjoy the beach at the same time."

"Yeah," Ales sighed, not really excited to see her mother. Having her on the phone was stressful enough, being near her for a whole weekend promised some tough lectures on how she wasn't enough. She suddenly gasped loudly, eyes wide with horror, hand coming up to her mouth. " _Mom_!"

Kara was looking at her worriedly, not following. "What ? What is it ?"

Alex stared at Kara for a couple of seconds, not believing she actually forgot. "Kara," she said slowly. "Kara, I didn't call mom. Just must have seen the news... But I haven't really checked my phone since the plane..."

" _Oh._  Well, she didn't call me, maybe she hasn't seen it yet ?" she offered, hopeful. 

"Really. An alien appeared, saving a plane, and she just happened to miss the news of the year ?" she deadpanned, not half as hopeful as Kara. "She must have called me, but Henshaw took my phone... Shit.  _Shit !"_

"Alex, calm down, it's okay. If she saw the news, she just must be worried about me, not even sure it  _was_ me. She didn't know you were on that plane. Breathe," she instructed calmly. 

Alex took a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds before letting it out. "Right. Yeah, right, you're right. She doesn't know... Kara," she said looking at her dead in the eyes. "She can't know it was you, okay ? She'll disown me or something, just- don't tell her, please ?" she pleaded. 

Kara frowned, not liking the fear Alex radiated from the thought of having her mother know Kara exposed herself. Knowing it was an old, rooted problem that wasn't going to fix itself with a few well-said words, she just nodded. "Yeah, sure. I won't tell her," she promised.

Alex exhaled sharply, the anxiety lessening with each passing second. "Okay. Okay, thanks. Sure." She paused, trying to calm her racing heart and after a moment it did. "Okay," she repeated, calmer now. "Let's hang some art," she said overly cheerful.

Kara was still a bit worried but knew she couldn't do anything to really appease her sister, so she smiled and picked the picture Alex had in her hands before freaking out. "Yeah. Where do you want to put this one ?" she asked, tilting the picture to show it to Alex. 

"Bedroom," she instantly answered like it was obvious. "It's my favorite, I want to be able to look at it before going to sleep," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders, trying to sound nonchalant.

Warmth spread in Kara's heart and into her whole body, bursting with joy at Alex's explanation. Even if she felt a little more than Alex towards her sister, it was okay because she could see Alex loved her as much as she could. "Sure," she breathed, not trusting her voice to be steady if she spoke louder. 

Smiling, she went into the bedroom and put in on the nightstand on Alex's side. She would see it too either way, with her being glued to Alex all night anyway.  
When she came out, she saw Alex with the painting of her parents in her hands, staring at her pensively. She turned her head when Kara came closer, eyes glued to the painting. 

"I guess it'll go in a closet or the bedroom," said sadly Kara. "We can't very well have people see it. It's too obvious."

"Actually, we can put it anywhere you want," declared Alex with a soft smile. "It's a safe house. People can't come here. Sorry about your social life by the way," she joked, before being serious again. "You can choose where you want it. Any place," she said, looking into Kara's misty eyes.

"Yeah ?" she asked shakily with a watery smile.

"Yeah," nodded Alex, handing the painting over to Kara.

Sniffing, Kara took the painting, holding it like it could vanish at any moment. She looked around, taking in the setting of the apartment for the first time. She noticed it was really bare of any decoration, all white and clean like you saw in magazines.   
She bit the inside of her cheek, thinking, before deciding on the wall next to the front door. She took one of the nails she took with her from her place and nailed it into the wall,  _gently,_ and hang the painting. 

"This way, I can see them anytime I leave or come home," she said emotionally. 

Alex came next to her, brushing her shoulder with her own to make her feel her presence. "It's perfect," she just said, looking at the painting with a smile.

She often wondered what it would be like to meet Kara's parents. Would they like her ? Would they be proud of Kara ? Would they be like Kara remembered ?  
She inwardly sighed, remembering it was no use wondering about all of that now. It was too late.

"Where would like to put the other one ?" she asked, going to grab it and giving it to Kara.

This time, Kara didn't hesitate and walked over to the couch, stepping on it to reach the wall behind. It was the scenery of Krypton, or Argo City to be exact, painted in horizontal, so it went perfectly above the couch.

She stepped back, Alex joining her once again next of her and gazing at the scenery. "It's beautiful," she commented, lost in the painting Kara did.

Kara gently pressed her shoulder against Alex's in a silent  _thank you,_ again too embarrassed by the compliment. "Yeah," she whispered. "It really was."

Glancing at Kara briefly to make sure she wasn't crying, she slipped her hand into Kara's, interlacing their fingers and giving it a squeeze before rubbing the back with her thumb. Kara closed her eyes, feeling content in this moment.  
She could hang her paintings where she wanted, a reminder of Krypton, and had Alex close to her, closer than ever before. She put her head on Alex's, being taller, smiling when Alex shifted to place her own on Kara's shoulder.

They stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying the presence of the other.

After a while, Kara straightened up, knowing Alex wouldn't do it first because she wanted to be there for Kara, however long she needed, and took a breath. "Let's go put the other photos I took. Oh, and I took something else too," she added with a secretive smile.

Alex raised an eyebrow in question but quietly went over the other photos, watching as Kara went back to the suitcase in their bedroom out of the corner of her eyes.  
As she was watching a picture of Eliza, Jeremiah, Kara and her, Kara came back with her hands hidden behind her back.  
Alex put down the picture to face Kara, a hand on her hip. "So, what's the mystery item ?"

Kara had an goofy smile, bouncing slightly in excitement. She waited for a few seconds, probably to build the suspense, before holding out the fluffy blanket, shouting "TA-DA !" in triumph. 

Alex's eyes widened in surprise before she burst out laughing. "I don't know how I didn't guess," she admitted, still laughing before coming closer to feel the blanket. "It was a really good idea," she said, taking it to put it on the back of the couch.

Kara smiled, sitting down on the couch and putting the blanket that Alex folded on her lap. "Because I'm mysterious," she joked.

Alex rolled her eyes good-naturedly before settling in next to Kara, taking half of the blanket for her. "Sure you are."

Kara scoffed, pushing playfully Alex's shoulder before taking the remote to resume the show they were watching earlier. Her head found its way into Alex's shoulder after a few minutes, and Alex put her cheek against Kara's head, softly tracing her lines of Kara's fingers with her own.

After a while, Alex's phone rang. She sighed, the nice moment they shared coming to an end. She reached for her phone and looked at the screen.

"It's Vasquez. Henshaw sent her a message saying he heard about the explosion," she announced. "We have to go talk to her, get on the same page and figure out what to do next."

Kara, tense next to Alex, put her head against the cushion. " _You_ won't do anything next," she declared seriously. "You're not even supposed to leave this apartment."

Alex sighed again, rubbing at her forehead, guessing it was going to be a recurrent argument. "I'll leave if I have to, Kara. Or if I want to and it's safe. I'm not dumb."

Kara's head shot up from the couch to look at Alex with an alarmed expression. "That's not what I said ! I'm just- I don't want you to risk your life  _again,_ " she said honestly. "I'm not trying to control you Alex, I'm sorry."

Alex pursed her lips, guilty at having lost her cool. "I know, I'm sorry I snapped... This whole situation really got me tense. I know you worry."

"Yeah," Kara whispered. "Me too."

They sighed in unison, chuckling at their synchronization. "Come on," she said, patting Kara's knee. "Let's get this over with so we can order Chinese and eat greasy food while watching TV."

Kara smiled,  _this_ was her Alex, and got up. Alex quickly changed her clothes having been in her pajamas since the morning, and joined Kara at the front door. Kara got out first, looking outside to see if it was safe. She nodded in Alex's direction and she followed Kara. They knocked at Vasquez' door and waited for her to open it. They didn't have to wait long as she opened with half of her body hidden by the door.

Alex rolled her eyes and pushed it open, making Vasquez step backwards with a small objection. Kara gave her an apologetic smile and trailed behind Alex.

"You can put away your gun Agent," Alex teased, without having to turned around to guess why Vasquez didn't open the door wider. 

Kara did however turn to look at Vasquez in surprise who huffed but while putting it away in a drawer next to the front door.

"Do you want something to drink ?" she offered.

"Just water-"

"Whiskey-" Kara and Alex said at the same time. When Kara gave Alex a dirty look, she looked away and mumbled "Water for me as well, thanks."

Vasquez hid her smile by turning towards the kitchen, filling three glasses of water.

They were sitting around the round kitchen table a minute later, each with the glass in their hands, having recapped the situation.

"That confirms the mole theory. They knew Kara was leaving  _and_  that she's an alien. Otherwise they wouldn't have put this bomb, just a normal one," Vasquez pointed out.

Nodding, Alex tapped absentmindedly on the glass in her hands. "Yeah, Director Henshaw already knows. He's going to be on the lookout."

Kara was silent next to them, staring at the water in her glass. She wondered how long it was going to take to catch the people responsible for this whole mess, she couldn't stay inside all day long, she still had-

"Work !" she shouted suddenly, getting up rapidly and sending the chair flying behind her. It fell a few meters further with a loud sound, but fortunately breaking nothing. 

Both Alex and Vasquez startled, Alex spilling her water all over the table and quickly grabbed her phone to save it from drowning. She took a rag to quickly wipe the water before it fell on the floor. " Wha-"

"I can't believe I actually forgot to go to work,  _again !"_  said Kara, throwing her hands in the air, desperate. "I'm such an  _idiot !"_

Frowning, Alex threw the cloth at Vasquez so she could finish wiping her mess and made her way to Kara. "Kara, didn't she give you the day ?"

"No ! She gave me  _yesterday,_ but certainly not today ! I'm so fired, this time it's certain, it's over," she rambled. "I don't even have my phone... How will I contact her ? How will  _she_ contact  _me_?" she panicked, her voice getting higher.

"Kara, hey. It's only," she quickly glanced at the time on her phone and winced. They slept in. "It's not that late," she amended. At Kara's look, she pursed her lips before continuing. "Okay, it's a little after eleven. She may be a little mad, but she won't  _fire_ you, she adores you."

"She doesn't a-"

"She at least needs you," Alex said, cutting off Kara. "She won't fire you." She paused, looking for a way to appease and help Kara. "I'll go with you," she blurted out. 

Kara stopped dead in her tracks, hand still in her hair as she was passing it through her hair because of her anxiety. "Huh ?" she asked dumbly.

"I'll go with you," she repeated. "I'm still connected to law enforcement; I can feed her some lie to cover for you."

"Alex, you're part of a secret agency, I doubt you're willing to reveal this information to The Queen of all Media just to help me," she said slowly, like Alex somehow lost her intelligence during the night.

Alex scoffed and crossed her arms at the jab. "I'm a little smarter than that, thank you very much," she scowled, satisfied when Kara looked properly chastised. "We have a little trick to our badge," she said with a smirk, reaching for it in her back pocket. She pulled it out and showed Kara her DEO badge quickly changing into an FBI one, feeling smug when Kara gasped from the surprise. "So I'll just make something up if she doesn't want to listen to you. I'm not going to let you get fired because you helped me."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before a deliberate cough brought them out of their little staring contest. They both turned to see Vasquez watching them with a hesitant look. "I don't wanna interrupt Ma’am’s, but... Won't your apartment exploding will be cause enough to miss one morning at your work ?"

The sisters just stared at her, not believing they didn't think about that. " _Oh."_ Kara let out. "Oh yeah. I guess..." she said, relieved. "I just have to avoid being fired for yesterday, then we're good." She shivered, thinking about talking to her boss about her absence. "I'm going to die. I'm invulnerable and she's going to  _kill_ me."

Alex chuckled at her sister's antics, but still offered her help because she knew Cat Grant was no picnic. "I'll go with you then, like I said. I got your back," she winked.

Kara flushed, and coughed awkwardly to try and forget Alex  _winking._ "But wouldn't they just follow me to get to you if I still go to work ?" 

Alex smirked. "Technically, I'm on vacation far from here, Henshaw made sure of that. They'll believe I went into hiding. They're not really wrong, but I'm actually staying closer than they think. That's also why it's a one-bedroom apartment. If they do research about the place, they'll think you're living alone because it'd be too small for two persons. We're lucky to be used to living in the same  _room,_ this place is gonna be a palace for us," she said, referencing at their bedroom in Midvale, when they didn't dare to go out and face Eliza.

Kara chuckled and tilted her head, looking at Alex with a nostalgic look. "Oh yeah, we did practically live in that room..." She paused, thinking about Alex's offer. "Okay, you can come I guess, if Agent Vasquez is with you when I'm not," she conceded. 

Alex nodded at the same time as Vasquez. "Okay, let's get ready and go to CatCo."

 

* * *

 

 

Kara got ready using super-speed and Alex quickly showered and washed her hair. It was at time like these that she was happy they were short and dried quickly.  
She got out of the bathroom with clean clothes and hair glistening and joined Kara where she waited for her in the kitchen. When she heard Alex coming, she half turned around, eyes glued to her phone. "Hey, can I give the new numb-" she stopped when she looked up in the middle of her sentence, eyes locking on Alex's hair.

She realized now that she liked her short hair more than she originally thought, enough to make her brain short-circuit. "What ?" asked Alex as she finished putting on her leather jacket. 

"Um-" She shook her head, trying to pull herself together. "I- um, can I give my new number to Miss Grant ? I'll get really fired if she can't contact me," she explained, finally finding her words.

"Oh, um," Alex frowned, thinking. "I don't know," she mumbled, munching on her lower lip. "It's best not to. I'll get you a burner phone with another number, it's safer. This way they won't be able to trace it back to you or us. Even if the lines are clear on ours, we can't mix our 'complicated life' with our 'everyday life'."

"Okay," Kara nodded, taking her bag. "Let's go then, we'll get one on the way."

And just like that, they left the safe house for the first time. Vasquez was driving again and Alex was on the passenger seat. Kara was on her own on the back seat, nervously rubbing her hands against her legs. She was nervous because she worried Miss Grant wouldn't let her come back to work, and because it'd be the first time Alex came to her workplace.  
Plus, she was worried what Winn was going to say. She couldn't lie, or not well, and he'll ask her how the date went. She couldn't very well tell him it was a bust and that she spent the last few days with Alex, never leaving her side.

"Stop gnawing your lip," Alex called out.

Kara's head snapped up to see Alex looking straight ahead, but she saw her watching her in the outside rear-view mirror. She tried to smile but she knew it looked more like a grimace so she just stared out of her window, looking people walking, taking a coffee, on the phone... It all seemed normal, not unlike her life three days ago, though if felt like it was a lifetime ago.

They stopped to buy a burner phone before stopping in front of CatCo, Kara looking anxiously the big shiny letters on top of the building, and took a deep breath before getting out of the car.  
Seeing Alex waiting for her outside made her relax, and she smiled easily this time.

"Come on," said Alex, smiling back.

They walked to the entrance, Vasquez leaving to find a spot to park, and Kara walked close to Alex, pushing people away with her shoulder a little more forcefully than usual to avoid people bumping into Alex. She was still recovering from her ribs after all.  
Alex hid a smile behind her hair by lowering her head, seeing right through Kara, feeling her stomach flutter at the sweet attention.

Kara held out the door open for Alex, and they walked up to the security desk to ask for a badge for Alex.  
After a few minutes, just as they were about to enter the elevator, Kara stopped dead in her tracks. Alex turned, looking at her curiously before stepping aside to let other people in the elevator.

"What ?"

"Uh... I forgot to get Miss Grant her lunch..." she said dejectedly. "I think I forgot to put my head on this morning."

Alex pursed her lips. "After everything that happened, it's not surprising you're a little out of it Kar," she gently said. "And it's okay, it happens. You can't always be at 110%." She paused, thinking. "You know what ? Go get her lunch. I'll go up and talk to her, explain things to her," she said, nodding as she talked.

Kara hesitated, unsure if it was such a good idea to let Alex and Cat Grant alone. Together. In the same room.  
Alex raised her eyebrows, silently telling Kara to  _hurry the hell up,_ and shoved her playfully to convince her. " _Go,_ I got this," she pushed.

Kara nodded, her body already towards the exit but eyes still on Alex, as she slowly walked away. With one last glance, she turned around fully and sped walked to come back as soon as possible.

Alex sighed and pushed the button of the elevator, waiting with her arms crossed. She received odd looks, but she understood. She was dressed all in black, save for her dark  _grey_ shirt, looking like someone who could take a large man down. She also knew that her gun was visible with her arms crossed, pulling her jacket close to her back. She resisted smirking, because looking impassible was scarier.  
So she just focused on what she was going to say to Cat Grant.

The elevator dinged, pulling her out of her thoughts, and she got in, pleased when people seemed to keep their distance.  
She didn't know which floor she had to go to, but she guessed The Queen of all Media would be on the last one, looking down on her subjects.  
She inwardly scoffed, already bothered by Cat. She didn't like her from the start because of how she treated Kara, especially in the beginning. It was better now, but mostly because Kara became tougher, not because Cat became softer.

She was getting antsy, more and more looking forward to having a little chat with her sister's boss.

As she left the elevator, she cracked her hands and looked around, searching for-

"Winn !" she called out, approaching the little man.

Winn startled at the loud voice, the bullpen usually quiet except for Cat's shouts. He turned and his face lost its colors when he saw Alex walking up to him. "Oh, h-hey Alex, how's- how's it going ?" he greeted, stammering and bouncing nervously his leg up and down.

Alex smiled, but it wasn't the warm smile she gave Kara, or even the polite one she gave the others. It was the fake smile, the one where it was meant to look like it was fake.

"Hey Winn," she said sweetly, overly cheerful. "So, what's up lately ?"

He knew something was wrong, and he had an inkling of what it was. "Um- you know, not much," she replied, trying to look anywhere but in her eyes.

"Well," she said as she rounded his chair and settling behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders like they were friends. Well, they  _were_ , but if she happened to squeeze a little too tight for his liking, then it was on him. "You know, something funny happened a couple of days ago," she began, voice low and menacing to his hears, but friendly for others who might be listening.  
She smirked when he gulped audibly. "Yeah," she drawled. "You know what I'm talking about, that's my pal !" she said while patting his shoulder  _hard_  with her right hand; her  _dominant_  hand.

He cringed at the movement, aware that he had to explain now. "Ye-Yeah, it's not- Alex, can you like, sit or something ?" he asked nervously, looking at Alex from the corner of his eyes.

She waited a few seconds before doing so, making him stew a little. She sat down, crossing her legs and hands intertwined on her lap, ready to listen. "So. Spill," she said, bite clear in her words.

"Right," he said, shuffling in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. "I just-," he sighed, deciding to be honest. "I'm...  _interested_ in Kara, as you probably guessed, and I wanted to push her in the right direction. For her !" he quickly added at Alex's dark expression. "Really ! I just wanted her to-to meet new people because she spends her time with either you or me, and I thought it would do her some good to go out there, you know. And yeah, if she thought I was the right person for her, it would have been a plus, but she obviously doesn't," he mumbled, a little bitter. Not against Kara, just at the situation. "So I told her that your co- your  _closeness_ may, like, get in the way." Alex tensed at his words, remembering Kara talking about this conversation and tripping over the same word. "She didn't agree though," he added under his breath, Alex hearing him anyway.

She clenched the armrests tightly, leaning forwards Winn. "What did you say to her,  _exactly_ ," she asked through her gritted teeth, visibly fuming.

He recoiled a little, fearing for his life at this point. "Wha- What ?" he stammered.

"I think you used a particular word that bothered Kara, and I want you to tell me.  _Now,"_ she said menacingly.

He heard his heart beating loudly in his head, his breathing becoming a little shorter and quicker than before.

"I- I said you two were codependent with-with each other," he answered quickly, not wanting to enrage Alex further. It was not the best tactic though.

She took a deep breath, trying to avoid throwing him on his desk and doing something she might regret. "Wh- Why would you say something like that ? Just to get her to be closer to you ?" she asked in a calm voice.

He scowled at that, truly hurt at the implication. "I would never do that Alex, come on !" He looked around when he more or less shouter the last two words, gesturing to people to get back to work. He pursed his lips before continuing, whispering. "I swear, I would never. It's just something that I noticed, that's all. It doesn't have to be a bad thing, though," he said gently with a look of understanding.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, already tired of this conversation. She wasn't surprised Kara was behaving weirdly when they saw each other before her date. "Just- don't say stuff like that to her, it's a touchy subject."

She wasn't going to say she already knew they were, but didn't want to change. Plus, Kara needed a constant, and Alex was more than happy to be this constant. She didn't know if Kara knew though, even if she suspected that she didn't. Kara still had trouble seeing what was really normal behavior to what wasn't, little social cues she missed. 

She slowly got up, taking her time to organize her thoughts, and leaned down, head just next to Winn's, cheek to cheek.

"If you don't want to find out what I can do to your internal organs with just one finger, you'll never say anything like that to Kara. Ever," she whispered, threat out in the open for him to see.

He shuddered as he gave her a shaky nod, to which she smirked and tapped gently his shoulder, letting him know the worse was over. 

Now. She still had her original mission she needed to complete:  _talk to Cat freaking Grant._

She looked around for a second, immediately finding her office. She was at her desk, typing on her computer with several pairs of glasses on her nose. She looked like she was this close to fire anyone who would dare to come close right now. Good thing she wasn't an employee then. 

She walked towards her office determined, Winn whimpering quietly behind her as he guessed where she was headed.   
Once at the opened glass doors, she knocked, waiting for Cat to look up, leaning on one of the doors.  
She crossed her arms when she understood she wasn't going to have an answer anytime soon, frowning at her attitude. 

After a minute or so, Cat sighed without ever looking away from her computer. "What do you want ?" she asked, apparently already bored with the conversation she didn't have yet.

Alex walked closer, sitting without being asked to, leaning on one side with one arm on the back of the chair, looking very laid back. "Hello Miss Grant," she greeted. 

Cat's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she slowly looked up to see who would be bold enough, or rather  _stupid_ enough, to do this. She removed the several pairs of glasses she wore with deliberate slowness. "Yes, you know my name, good for you," she deadpanned. "Can I know to whom I have the displeasure to speak to ?" she said, eyes squinted in wariness.

Alex smirked at the poorly disguised insult. She straightened, interlacing her fingers before her, forearms on her thighs as she leaned forward. "Agent Danvers," she introduced herself. "I'm with the FBI," she continued when she saw curiosity in Cat's eyes, showing her badge.

It was Cat's turn to smirk, smelling a story there, and a good one at that. "Would you perhaps be related to my average assistant, Keira ?"

Alex's expression darkened, but she kept her cool. " _Kara,_  yes. I'm her sister."

"Really," she drawled. "It's funny, you look nothing like her," she pushed.

"Miss Grant," she inhaled sharply, stiffening. "I didn't come here to discuss my relation with my sister," she warned.

"Oh ? Why  _did_ you come here for then ?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, leaning back into her massive chair, a smug smile on her face. Like she somehow knew more than Alex did. 

She sighed, trying to convey her sincerity. "Kara was worried you would fire her for her absence yesterday and this morning. Truth is..." she looked at her clasped hands, biting at her lower lip in guilt. She blew out a breath before making eye contact with Cat. "Kara helped me with some critical work yesterday, and because of that, because of  _me..._ Someone blew out her apartment yesterday night," she admitted.

Not what she was expecting, Cat straightened in her seat, now looking really...  _worried ?_  For Kara ? "Exploded ? Is she okay ?"

Alex stared at her for a beat, surprised at her reaction before pursing her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. "She is, she got out just in time," she nodded, relief washing through her as she reminded herself that Kara was  _safe_ ,  _she made it._ "She found a place to stay for now, but wanted to come back to work as soon as possible."

Cat glanced over Alex's shoulder, searching for the familiar blond hair. "Well, where is she then ?" she asked with feigned nonchalance.

Not able to hide her smile any longer, she just let it show. "She went to get your lunch."

Cat hummed, absentmindedly putting an arm of one of her glasses between her lips. She suddenly seemed to have an idea, a smirk slowly making its way onto her face. "So, you're actually covering for her."

Alex frowned. "No, I'm here because I'm her sister, otherwise it would have been another agent. I have a colleague waiting in the car downstairs if you'd prefer," she challenged. She didn't know where Cat was going with this, but two could play. 

 "So it really was an FBI case she helped with ?" she asked innocently.

Alex nodded, leaning back into her seat, crossing her arms again. "Yes."

Cat hummed again, a clear agenda in mind. "And how could she possibly be of assistance ?"

"If you're fishing for a story, don't waste your breath Miss Grant," she said harshly. She reconsidered a second later though, not wanting to jeopardize Kara's job. She sighed, closing her eyes for a second. "But if it can ease your worry, she was close to me when it happened and she had the skills we needed." From the look in Cat's eyes, she knew she said something wrong, so she quickly added "She speaks many languages, it was necessary at the time." It wasn't even a lie, Kara was fluent in many Earth  _and_ other languages.

"Funny, I didn't see it on her resume," she remarked while making a show of looking at her phone, like this conversation bored her.

"She's not big on showing off," replied curtly Alex, her patience wearing thin. She tried to hold on until Kara came back though.

"No, she's not, is she," Cat murmured, staring into Alex's eyes with a glint in her own that Alex really didn't like.

Alex squinted in suspicion. Cat Grant seemed to be a step ahead, even if she didn't know about what exactly. "What a-"

"I got your lunch Miss Grant !" shouted a little too loudly Kara, coming half running with messy hair and glasses askew. Alex got up automatically, glancing at Kara before looking back at Cat to see she didn't even spare a peek at Kara.

Cat and Alex kept staring at each other as if trying to read the other's mind until Kara put down the bad in front of Cat. "Salad wrap ?" asked Cat, already knowing the answer.

Kara bobbed her head up and down, still trying to catch her breath (did Kryptonians could even lose their breath ?). "Of course," she answered breathlessly.

She seemed to notice the tension and took a step back, still scared of her boss. She took a place next to Alex, sliding her hand in Alex's and gave her a grateful look with a shy smile.

Alex smiled back at Kara, squeezing her hand in response and looked back at Cat. Cat, who was watching them with a growing smile (if you could call it a smile as it was closer to a grimace, or,  _okay,_ a smirk then) as well as a knowing look to complete her honest to god scary expression.

Alex kept her stance, tall and back straight, and Kara, well... Kara was basically hiding behind Alex. Okay, not  _really_ hiding, just- half hiding. She had an arm linked with Alex's, fingers intertwined, looking for courage.  
Alex frowned, not liking Kara's reaction to her boss' mood.

Kara took a breath, getting ready to face the music. "Miss Grant, I'm sorry I wasn't here yesterday. And this morning. I'm-"

"Yes, yes," cut off Cat, gesturing vaguely with her hand. "Agent Scully here already explained everything."

"Agent Scu-"

"So you have nothing to worry about," she said, cutting Alex off this time. "You job is safe. Just make sure to come properly clothed, having your wardrobe disappear in a fire isn't an excuse. Though it can be an excuse to replace everything," she said easily, as she hadn't just insulted Kara's fashion sense.

Kara nodded happily, just thankful to still have her job. "Thank you Miss Grant."

Alex was about to bite back but Kara tugged at her arm a little too forcefully to stop her, shaking her head minutely. So Alex kept her mouth shut, nearly biting her tongue to make the task easier.

Cat was watching the interaction with curiosity and a touch of amusement, obviously having foreseen such a reaction from them if her pleased expression was anything to go by. It didn't sit right with Alex to be watched like that, like mere experiments Cat was enjoying toying with.

Outside, she wore a mask of impassiveness, but inside she was fuming, hating more and more this woman.  
Kara though, was radiating with joy and relief at still having her job, so Alex couldn't really well keep being mad when she smiled at her like  _that._  
She gave a little one in return, careful at what expressions she displayed in front of The Queen of all Media.

"Well, now that that's done," she said a little louder than necessary, breaking the tense atmosphere. "I have to go back to work," she said, giving Kara a meaningful look, silently saying she couldn't stay in Kara's workplace much longer. She was supposed to be in hiding.

"Yes ! Work, you have work, you're a working D-FBI agent after all," she rambled, totally busting Alex.

Alex, which internally face-palmed, but just gave Kara a tight-lipped smile. "Yes, so. Miss Grant," she said, taking a step towards her and held out her hand to shake Cat's. "It was a pleasure," she said sharply, obviously lying.

Cat hummed before taking Alex's hand and shaking it firmly. "Yes, a pleasure indeed Agent Scully," she smirked.

Alex sighed, rolling her eyes once back turned to Cat and facing Kara who was looking torn, not liking the two women she respected not liking each other.

Glancing hesitantly towards Miss Grant, Kara looked back at Alex. "Come on, I'll walk you out. I'll be right back Miss Grant," she called out over her shoulder, yanking Alex towards the exit. 

Once they reached the doors, Kara sighed in relief and walked faster towards the elevator. "What was  _that ?"_  she whispered loudly.

Alex scowled, freeing her arm of Kara's tight hold, making a show of rubbing her arm. "What ? Something bothers me in that woman, I can't tell what though..." she answered, looking pensive while gnawing at her lip.

Pouting, Kara whined unhappily. "Alex, can't you just get along with her ? She's my boss, and I respect her. You would too if you knew her !"

"Yeah, I don't think so Kar. Plus, I don't  _have_ to get along with her. I'll probably never see her again," she shrugged. 

"Yeah...", conceded Kara. "Anyway, thank you," she added more seriously. "I don't know what you said to her, but I still have my job," she smiled brightly, pulling Alex into a short hug, kissing her on the cheek as she let go. "I owe you !"

Cheeks slightly pink, Alex huffed to divert the attention so her sudden shyness. "You don't, it was the least I could do after you rescued me, like, twice."

Kara chuckled, tilting her head in a very Kara way. "That's normal, dummy !" They spent a minute staring at each other, something they seemed to do more often recently, getting lost into the other's eyes, until someone came and excused himself so Alex would move so he could push the button to call the elevator. 

They both coughed awkwardly at having been caught in a private moment and Kara waved Alex goodbye as she entered the elevator.

Once they couldn't see each other anymore, they both blew out a breath at the same time, somehow relieved to have some time to themselves. They didn't understand why though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, phew ! That was some big update, like 11K I think.
> 
> I hope you liked it, it's my favorite so far I think.
> 
> As usual, tell me what you thought :)


	17. Cat and Co

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late update, been working on something else... You'll see.  
> Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter !

After Alex left, Kara went back into Cat's office.

"I'm very sorry about... everything, Miss Grant, that wasn't professional of me," she apologized seriously, looking uncomfortable.

"It wasn't," agreed Cat, already back to work and typing on her computer with her three pairs of glasses back on her nose. "But it couldn't be helped," she said, taking Kara by surprise. "Now go back to work. Call a meeting for this afternoon for a follow-up of yesterday. We still have to find out who is this superhero who saved that plane." Kara was staring at her nervously, having forgotten about this little detail. She also hasn’t watched the news since the incident, so she didn't know she got caught on camera even if no one recognized her. Cat looked up, sending Kara an annoyed glare. "Chop chop !" she said loudly, startling Kara out of her internal panic.

"Right ! Yes, right away Miss Grant," she said as she hurried out of her office and power walked to her desk.

She sent the emails for the meeting to the department heads, answered other urgent emails and phone calls and went on about her day as calmly as she could. She also watched the news, trying to find out what everybody knew about the plane crash but was relieved to see no one could really see her face and her hair were a different color.

She wanted to text Alex to tell her everything was fine with Miss Grant and thank her again and she realized she didn't give her new number to Miss Grant. She got up and walked back into her boss' office. "Miss Grant ?" She heard a sigh she wasn't supposed to hear and kept talking before she was thrown out. It happened before. "I just wanted to give you my new number personally, in case you need to join me," she declared as she hesitantly walked closer to her desk so she could put the piece of paper with her number on it.

Cat wanted to ignore her assistant but her curiosity got the best of her. She looked up, trying to look like she was bored. "Does your new number have anything to do with your absence ?"

Kara tensed, not comfortable with this line of questioning. She discretely looked behind her as she chuckled and fidgeted with her glasses, head lowered, looking if anyone was within earshot. Seeing no one paying attention, she turned her attention back on Cat, patiently waiting for her answer. She was still hesitant to answer as it was none of her business, but she has been nice enough to let her work again. So she gave her a small nod, hoping it would be enough.

Cat was looking at her closely, watching her expression and deduced Kara was reluctant to say more. She sighed as she looked down on the number and took her phone to enter it. "That'd be all," she said with a wave of her hand dismissing a relieved Kara.

She got back to her desk, sit down and closed her eyes for a moment, reassured that Cat seemed oddly satisfied with the few answers she could give her. She put her head on the back of her chair, taking a little break from all the constant stress.

"So, what really happened ?"

Kara jolted a little, her knee knocking under her desk making everything fall down or roll off. She cursed quietly in Kryptonian as she wasn't often taken by surprise, both by his presence and his question, asking for the truth.

"Wha- What ?" she asked nervously as she squat to pick up everything that fell from her desk.

"Sorry," Winn apologized, following her down to help her gather her stuff. "I asked you what happened. I thought you still were with your date but then Alex shows up here and talks to  _Cat Grant_ ," he whispered with incredulity. "Did something happened ?"

She bit her lower lip trying to come up with something. She forgot to ask Alex what she told Cat and get their stories straight and panicked a little as to what to say to Winn. Lying to Cat was one thing as she was always nervous around her and Cat didn't care enough to pay attention, but lying to Winn was something else entirely. He was her friend, her first real friend and he definitely paid attention, which was a good thing but really didn't help in this situation. "Um, something came up with my sister," she explained vaguely. She wanted to tell the truth, or a partial one at least and tell him Alex was on the plane, but she couldn't divulge this information without being sure that she was allowed to do so, so she held her tongue. 

"Oh, is everything okay ? I mean-" he stopped talking, thinking back to what Alex talked to him about earlier, scene still very fresh in his memory. "Did- Did she tell you something ? Or did  _you ?"_

Kara was still worrying in her head and was listening to him with one ear as she was still picking up her stuff. "Like what ?" she frowned.

He passed his hand down his tie, one of  _his_ nervous tic and stopped helping her. "Like- I don't know, you know... What we talked about last- last time," he stammered, worried about her reaction. 

She sent him a glare as she finished gathering everything and stood up abruptly with everything in her hands. He briefly wondered how she wasn't going to drop everything but his attention quickly returned to the hard stare he was on the end of. He got up too and put her things he picked up down on her desk, still staying near as he sensed she had something to say.  
The last couple of days he felt like he hadn't had much luck with the Danvers sisters and he really didn't like it. He loved them both, even if differently, and never wanted to offend them.

"About  _that,"_ she said with squinted eyes as she crossed her arms. She waited a little, letting him squirm a little for her own selfish satisfaction but sighed. "It wasn't your fault actually. I mean, what you said was kind of true and  _you_ didn't set me up with that guy," she nearly spat and surprised Winn, who deducted the date didn't go well. "And I know you were just trying to help, it's just... I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to behave with a sister, we didn't have siblings where I came from," she let out distractedly.

"What ? Where  _did_ you came from ? I thought America, even if you have sometimes an accent I can't place," he commented thoughtfully.

"Oh, um, you know, N-North," she cringed, knowing it wouldn't work on him. "I mean, I didn't have a sibling before- before, you know. And people around me didn't really have siblings either so I'm- I'm not really sure," she spluttered unconvincingly. 

"Right," he drawled in suspicion. He never probed into her personal life, not wanting to scare her off, but now something seemed off. She talked about the death of her parents, or at least mentioned it, but the circumstances seemed odd with a cousin that didn't take her in but gave her off to friends of the family. He decided to let it slide though, if she wanted to tell him, she would, he could be patient. "Well, I'm not sure who to behave with a sibling, I don't have one. But from what I see with other people, it's just being there for each other. And also stealing stuff and insulting the other ?" he asked more than said.

Kata thought for a moment, and had to agree. They were always there for each other, and they  _did_ steal each other's stuff. They never insulted the other though, or were mean just for sake of it, except when they were younger and didn't get along yet. But since then, it's been pretty much smooth sailing and she couldn't be more thankful to have found her. "Yeah, sounds about right," she agreed.

Winn smiled and glanced at Cat who was still focused on her screen. "So, we're good ?" he asked hesitantly. 

Kara smiled back and nodded. "We're good."

"Good," he breathed, relieved. "Good, okay. So I'm gonna let you go back to work." 

He took a step backwards, still looking at her with a happy face then turned to go sit at his desk, feeling lighter. Everything has been explained to both of the Danvers sisters and everything could go back to normal.  
Well, as normal as it could considering Kara just outed herself as an Alien while keeping her anonymity and discovering Alex was working with a secret governmental agency. Oh and also that they were living in a safe house after having her apartment blown to pieces because people wanted to kill Alex. And her. See ? Normal.

She sighed as she sat down, somehow relieved to hear she was still behaving like a normal sibling and not like a weird Alien who didn't know how act like a Human.  
She still wished she could ask someone how to be a normal sister, knowing she still had missteps when it came to her relationship with Alex. 

She looked up when she heard people coming towards the office, ready to tell them Miss Grant wasn't available but she quickly recognized all the department heads. She looked at the time and saw it was already time for the meeting, time passing by fast when she had a lot of things to, and faster when she wanted to do it perfectly so she could keep her job.

She got up, tablet in hands, to join them in Miss Grant's office, taking her usual spot by the bar, next to Cat's desk. Cat had asked her to always stand there so she could see people's reactions and body languages so she could report it to her after every meeting. She also could see if Cat subtly asked her for something. It was the perfect spot. She waited for everyone to take their place then for Cat to give them her attention.  
They didn't have to wait long because she suddenly got up, as if ready to fire everyone.

"As we established yesterday, there's a new Alien in town. She's female, flies, has tremendous strength, and used it to save a plane. I think it's safe to say that she's on our side. For the moment. Now, I asked you yesterday to find out who she is, or at least a way to contact her," she said as her eyes roamed dangerously the room, making everyone squirm. "I really hope you have something, because being second behind Lesser Lane is not something I enjoy. And I assure you, if I don't, you won't either," she warned.

Kara gasped as an idea struck her: Lois Lane ! She could ask her, she had a sister. She never met Lois' younger sibling, but she knew she could enlighten her about her relationship with Alex. Plus, she didn't have to hide anything as she was dating Kal and knew their secrets.   
She felt relief flow through her but it was short lived. She realized the room was silent and she looked up to see everyone looking at her with fear in their eyes. She panicked for a second, worried her heat-vision activated but she didn't feel any tell-tale sign, so she glanced at Cat and instantly regretted it.  
She knew that if a Human was capable of making a Kryptonian sweat, something that shouldn't be possible on Earth, Cat Grant would be this Human.

Kara gulped audibly, trying to think about how to save herself. She still could fly out of the window and take Alex with her, go live on a deserted island, just the two of them. With Kara's powers, they would be safe and fed and Alex would be far from the criminals that threatened her life. She was seriously considering this option but was interrupted by Cat.

"Yes... Kiera ?" she asked dangerously. The way she asked it sounded like she was curious, but Kara believed she was more curious about what insane thinking would make her interrupt a meeting without Cat's approval.

"Um." She looked at her tablet in alarm, trying to make it look like she had something on it that could help their present situation. So such luck. She still had an idea though and worried for a second about what that would make her later do, but she didn't have time to think about that. "I just- I thought maybe Winn could analyze the video of the Alien, see if he can find something ?" she offered hesitantly, reaching up to nervously touch her glasses.

Cat was still staring at her with a blank expression, making Kara fidget with her sleeve. "Who's Witt ?"

There was a silence where Kara let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding in anticipation, taken aback. "What, who's- Witt-  _Winn_ is your IT guy," she stammered. Surely Cat knew who he was, it was a one-person department. It shouldn't be but he was competent enough to be, though the salary didn't match his skills.

A blank look still on her face, she saw Cat try to remember but quickly moved on. "Well, tell this Witt to go to work, it's a good suggestion." Kara closed her eyes, thanking her quick thinking for saving her job. "If my assistant can come up with something, surely you can too," she said as she looked at everyone, waiting for something. When she was met with silence she sighed. "Mr. Olsen, any news from your friend in blue ?"

Kara frowned at the name. It was familiar but she knew all of the department heads and he was not one of them. She looked around the room, trying to identify this Olsen person when a tall black man spoke up. "He's not commenting, Miss Grant," he said confidently. He must be the only one to be this confident while giving Cat Grant every reason to fire him on the spot. 

Kara could see Cat fuming, ready to terminate everyone's contract and grimaced sympathetically. She was the one on the video, the one everybody was looking for but she couldn't come forward just to help them keep their jobs. Her family's safety was all that mattered.

"Well", Cat said through gritted teeth. "I suggest you try again, Mr. Olsen, or you can tell Perry he can have his beloved photographer back," she threatened. 

Mr. Olsen only nodded, keeping any remarks he might have had to himself. The meeting continued, other department heads threatened and yelled at while Kara was standing uncomfortably on the side, watching it all happen without being able to do anything. She kept repeating to herself it was for her family's safety; Alex and Eliza came first. And lives were more important than jobs.

When the meeting came to an end, everyone scattered, trying to get away from Cat as quickly as possible before she changed her mind about letting them keep their jobs. Kara stayed behind to take stock like after every meeting. Kara explained that Winn was really good with computers and could do more at CatCo if Cat desired so and relayed everyone's expressions and reactions to Cat.

"That was a good suggestion to analyze the video by Witt," Cat praised Kara. "Having it done in house will make it more credible and trustworthy."

"O-Oh, thank you Miss Grant," she said as she looked down shyly. "Oh, by the way, who's Mr. Olsen ? I feel like I've heard his name before. And also, since when does he work here, as a department head no less," Kara rambled, voicing her thoughts out loud. "I mean, I know I missed work but I don't think it's been that long and I thought I'd know if a new-"

Cat's long suffering sigh made her stop short and blush in embarrassment. "If you're quite finished taking the rest of my busy afternoon with your ramblings..." drawled Cat, looking at her with something between a glare and an exasperated look. "Mr. Olsen is the new art director, I hired him after a personal phone call from Perry White, he was their photojournalist. Now that you know everything, go back to work. I don't pay you to ask questions but to answer them before I even think to ask them," she snapped.

Kara straightened in surprise and fear, nodding a little too fast for it to be casual and quickly left the office. As she walked out towards her desk, she saw that someone was waiting for her next to it, leaning slightly on it.

"Mr. Olsen," she said in a surprised tone.

He offered his hand for Kara to shake with a big smile. "Please, it's James."

As she shook his hand, she softly gasped in recognition. "Oh, you're  _Jimmy_  Olsen !"

Putting his hands in his pockets he looked at her with a smirk. "Only my mom calls me Jimmy. And Clark," he added with a knowing look.

"Oh," she chuckled nervously as she fidgeted with her glasses. "Right, Clark Kent, heard of him in passing," she lied.

"Right," he smirked. "Anyway, I have the layouts for Miss Grant in my office, want me to go grab them ?" he offered.

She smiled shyly, not impervious to his boyish charm. "That's okay, I'll go."

They walked slowly, talking as they went to his office. "So, crazy about this Alien, huh ?"

Kara's head snapped toward him, eyes looking around to see if anyone was listening. "Yea-Yeah, crazy," she weakly agreed. "Too bad we can't get a good look at her."

From the corner of her eyes she saw James watching her closely. "I don't think that's a bad thing," he said as he looked ahead again. "She has a right to her privacy, Human or not. We owe her that much after she outed herself so she could save that plane."

Kara was watching him silently, pleased at his reaction. Maybe Earth will be acceptant of Aliens one day. "Yeah," she murmured with a small smile.

They stopped talking as they entered his office and she waited at the door for him to give her the layouts. As she scanned the room, seeing all of his cameras and lenses, her eyes fell on a framed print. She walked closer, taking it in her hands so she could watch it more closely. James turned to give her the layouts and saw her lost in the picture. He quietly went by her side, staying silent as well as she took it all in. "That's your picture that made you win the Pulitzer Prize," she said with wonder in her voice, eyes twinkling as she looked at her cousin flying in the picture.

"Yeah," he confirmed with a warm voice. He paused, watching her. "Take it."

"What ?" she asked, confused.

"Take it," he repeated while gesturing at the print. As she was going to refuse, he raised his hand. "It's okay, it's just a print. You seem to really like it, so please," he insisted.

She glanced between the frame and James, still hesitant, but when she saw his open smile was genuine she yielded. "Okay, thank you James." She looked back at the picture with a thoughtful expression. She glanced shyly at James who raised his eyebrows in silent question. "Is he-" she looked away, feeling awkward asking a stranger about him. "Is he as cool as he seems ?"

It was his turn to look at the photograph with a fond smile. "He is," he confirmed, eyes finding Kara's again. "He's... everything you want him to be and more."

There was longing and sadness in Kara's eyes now but she looked down in hopes of hiding it. She cleared her throat to remove what seemed to block her airways. "That's great," she said weakly. "Anyway, thank you again for the picture."

She turned away to leave before James called out her name, making her stop and turn around. "You forgot the layouts," he reminded her as he held them out for her to take. As she grabbed them, he held them tighter so she had to look at him. "You know, that's the first thing he did." Seeing her confusion, he clarified. "Saving a plane I mean."

Kara's face lit up a bit at that comment and she left his office with a goofy smile knowing that she was following into Kal's footsteps, feeling closer to him than she had in a long time.

Winn saw her come back from James' office with a big smile on her face and instantly became jealous. He's been here since she started at CatCo, Alex's been by her side since the biggest tragedy she experiences, and yet it was James that got her attention in a matter of minutes. He knew he had no right to be jealous but he couldn't help but envy James and his boyish charm.

"Maybe I should start working out too," he mumbled under his breath making Kara chuckle silently.

Instead of going back to her desk after giving the layouts to Cat, Kara came to talk to Winn. "Hey, got a minute ?"

He paused his online game as he had no more work to do and turned to face Kara in his chair. "Yeah, what's up ?" He was still bitter about James but he wouldn't let that affect his relationship with her, he was better than that. 

"I, um..." She looked around nervously, trying to find a way to come out and say it. "Could we talk somewhere ?" Then an idea struck her. "Meet me on the roof," she said over her shoulder as she swiftly made her way to the stairs.

She wanted to get a head start so she could prepare mentally. It wouldn't be easy to say this, she never told anyone. It was her first leap of faith toward him, but she knew she wasn't wrong. For starters, he loved Aliens. He was obsessed actually, even wrote a blog listing their apparitions and other theories. And more importantly, he was her friend. Her best friend. She knew she could trust him, she let him into her home, into her family, he  _knew_ her. There was nothing to worry about.

And yet, she was still rubbing her shaky hands along her pants and taking deep breaths as he arrived, opening the creaky metal door. He had his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he felt the cool wind against his face. "What did you want to talk about ?" he asked loudly so his voice could carry over the wind and the distance he left between her and him as she was close to the edge. "I'm not a big fan of heights," he admitted. "So if we could hurry up this along it would be awesome."

He shivered slightly as he got closer but still kept a safe distance between him and the edge. If there was an accident, he didn't like his odds should he fall. Unless the mysterious Alien came to save him that is. A guy could dream. 

"Sorry, I didn't want to be overheard." She was fidgeting with her hands, then her glasses and to her hair, then with her hands again. Seeing Winn waiting patiently for her to find her words relaxed her, knowing her friend knew her well enough to give her time to think. She blew out a breath and squared her shoulders as if ready for battle. Winn noticed the change in her posture and automatically straightened too, ready for anything she might have to say. "Something happened during the date," she said carefully, not wanting to jump right in and scare him off.

He frowned as he took the information. "The date ?"

"Yeah, I- um... So, I took a decision during this date," she began slowly, trying to find how to phrase it. "It wasn't really a decision really, I had no choice, I mean I  _did_ but it was more like the decision chose  _me ?"_ She knew she was rambling and saying nonsense but it was really difficult to stop, so she was relieved when Winn cut her off.

"Something happened during this date ? Okay, a decision that wasn't really a decision... I don't-  _OH !_ I know ! Did you go out with a woman ? You had your revelation !" he shouted with a victorious smile. "Kara that's great, that's- Wait," he said as his shoulders sagged. "That doesn't sound right, you seemed all happy talking to James," he mumbled more to himself than to her. 

" _What ?"_ she squeaked. "Winn,  _no !"_ she denied with a violent shaking of her head, trying too hard. "It's not- the- forget the date ! And James !" she said as she sighed loudly, exasperated with the turn of events. "Okay, I'll just say it." She took a deep breath and looked into Winn's eyes with all the courage she could muster. "I'm her," she declared.

There was a silence during which Winn was trying to regain his composure and then it went on longer as he tried to absorb what she was presently telling him.

"You're...  _Who_  ?"

"I'm her !' she sighed as she grew frustrated. "The girl who saved the plane !"

His jaw almost dropped to the floor trying to make sense of it all. "The gi- Kara, you don't have to make things up to have my attention, you know that," he chuckled awkwardly, wondering what happened to her earnest friend. "Come- Come on, let's just get inside," he offered as he began walking backwards toward the door. Kara was standing still, looking at him with an annoyed expression and he thought she was going to pout but instead she turned away and walked closer to the edge. "Kara, what are you doing ?" he shouted as he tried to get to her.

Once at the edge of the roof looking over the whole city, Kara turned to face Winn but kept her feet on the limits, her heels sticking out a little. "I'm proving it since you don't believe me." There was an edge of hurt in her voice even if she knew that Winn's reaction was a normal one. She stretched her arms out as if wings were going to pop out of her back and just let herself fall backwards towards the sidewalk.

" _KARA !"_ screamed in panic Winn, frantically running to where she stood just a second ago. Just as he was about to look down the building, steeling himself for the horrible sight he was undoubtedly going to see, a shadow passed in front of him making him fall on his back in surprise.

He heard a  _thump_ behind him after a swoosh of air and turned around to see what it was. Standing there was a smiling, happy and short breathed Kara, hands on her hips. "Ta-da," she said nervously, Winn almost not hearing her over the wind. 

Be he did hear her and it made him chuckle which turned into a full belly laugh as he was still laying on his back.  
At first Kara joined him, still nervous but going along with it but quickly stopped as she realized he didn't really find it funny but just kind of lost it.

"Winn ?" she asked worriedly as she walked closer to him but not closing the distance, wanting to keep a few feet between them just in case this was too much. "Winn ? Are you okay ?"

He was wheezing now, hands clutching at his ribs that hurt because he laughed too hard and too long. "I think," he tried to speak between laughter. "I think- I may be in- in a bit of a shock," he chocked out trying to stop laughing, tears now running down his cheeks.

Kara was hovering over him uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. "What can I do ? Do you want me to give you some space ?" she asked hesitantly, a little sad.

That seemed to sober him up as he stopped laughing uncontrollably and straightened. "No !" he shouted, desperate to make Kara understand he didn't have a problem with her being an Alien. "Oh, it stopped," he said, surprised. Still sitting, he got up and made eye contact with a scared and shy Kara. "Kara, it's fine," he smiled. "I'm just surprised, I wouldn't have seen it coming in a hundred years, that's all. But it's actually really cool," he gushed. "I don't know how I never saw it."

Now relaxed by Winn's acceptance she easily shrugged with a small smile. "And I'm not sneaky apparently. Did you never wonder how I kept breaking so much phones ?" That was a question that was always in the back of her mind, wondering if Winn was just polite and waited for her to tell him or if he was just oblivious. She suspected it was the latter.

"Oh yeah !" he gasped. "I wondered about that ! But I figured being Cat Grant's assistant was enough to draw on your resources," he half joked.

That made Kara laugh, eyes twinkling in delight. "That wasn't a bad theory, and not too far from the truth. It happened when I was really frustrated with something and forgot my strength," she admitted sheepishly.

Winn's eyes became focused on her, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Oh, so great strength," he nodded to himself. "Other powers ?"

Kara squirmed in place, not really comfortable talking about it here. Plus, if she wanted to tell him everything, she'd have to talk about her past and that wasn't something she liked talking about in a public place where anyone would interrupt. Also, he'd make the connection with Kal-El and would totally fan-boy over this. "Let's talk about it tonight ? My place ?" she offered. Just as Winn nodded she froze. "Oh, um, maybe not my place..." she said looking away.

"Why ?" he asked, frowning.

"It kind of... exploded ?"

" _What ?!"_ Winn shouted visibly shocked. So much information today !

She glanced at the floor before looking at him again. "Yeah, some stuff happened and..." she trailed off as she looked down again.

He closed the distance between them trying to get he to look him in the eyes. "Is it because of the plane ?" he asked softly.

"Kinda," she sniffed.

"Okay, okay," he murmured, thinking. "Do you have a place to stay ? Are you safe ?" he asked, concern leaking into his voice.

She looked up with a small smile, grateful to have this beautiful person in her life. "Yeah, I am. And I do have a place to stay," she confirmed.

"Good. Do you need anything ? Anything at all ?"

"No, I'm good. Thank you, Winn," she said as she squeezed his arm in thanks. Cheeks a little pink, he shrugged dismissively. "No," she said a little forcefully, making him focus on her. " _Thank you,"_ she repeated with intent.

He knew she was thanking him for accepting her alieness as well as for his offer to help. "You're my best friend, nothing's going to change that," he promised with a warm smile.

She took him by surprised when she engulfed him in a strong hug as she didn't felt comfortable before to hug him. He returned the hug and realized that he never felt safer than he did right now. Plus, her body temperature warmed him right up even with the cold wind blowing around them, and he made an internal note to ask about that later. After a moment she let go, letting out a watery chuckle.

"Okay," she sniffed. She discretely wiped her watery eyes and straightened. "Okay, so could we meet up somewhere after work so we can talk about this ? I don't want to drop this bomb on you and just leave you to figure it out," she explained. "And I want you to know the real me," she added, smiling widely at the prospect of having her best friend knowing everything about her.

 "Sure," he said with a wide smile of his own, happy to be trusted to that extent. "Do you want to go to my place ?" he offered.

She chewed on her lip for a moment with a thoughtful expression. "Can Alex come ?" As he was about to agree, she added "And another agent ?"

He stared at her for a beat. "Another... agent ?"

"Oh, um... oops ?" she whispered with a sheepish smile. "Alex works at the- the FBI and she's kind of in protective custody ? Anyway, this other agent is with her when I'm not and I'd like them to meet you, see that we have someone else in our corner."

Winn let out a surprised whistle. "You told me that she worked in a lab. But yeah, of course they can come," he agreed.

She playfully shoved his shoulder with a grin. "That's what I thought too," she admitted. "Thanks for lending us your place, it makes things easier."

"No problem," he smiled. He had a skittish look on his face, as if he was debating whether to ask her something or say nothing. She raised her eyebrows with an open expression to prompt him to talk. "I just wondered, what made you tell me ?"

She didn't think he was going to ask her that and she felt embarrassed because her reason was selfish. She fidgeted with her glasses, an obvious tell in his book, then played with the seam of her sleeve. "I told Miss Grant you could analyze the video of me saving the plane to try and identify me," she admitted, guilt making her mouth taste sour. "And I had to tell you so you could say it wasn't possible and so she'd give up this lead. But I wanted to tell you before !" she added in a desperate shout. Winn flinched at the volume. "Sorry," she murmured with red cheeks. "I swear though," she continued. "I wanted to tell you, but my family's security... It's too dangerous for people to know. I'm just relieved I had an opportunity to tell you," she said with a shy smile, worried Winn would be offended.

"Nah, I get it, family's first," he smiled sadly, not having a family of his own. "And I'm just happy you wanted to tell me, that counts for something, means you trusted me enough to want to."

"Yeah," she breathed, emotional at the comprehension and acceptance of his friend. "You're the best, you know that ?" she asked rhetorically, pulling him into a second but shorter hug.

Winn chuckled, realizing his best friend was more sentimental than he thought. "Yep, that's me," he joked. "So, just have to help you hide your identity, right ? Easy peasy," he said with a smug smile. "Even I didn't recognize you and I spend every day with you. But even with a thorough research, I'm afraid I won't be able to determine who this Alien is Miss Grant," he said apologetically, a fake sorry expression as he pretended to talk to their boss.

Kara laughed, relieved. "Thank Winn," she said for what must be the third time since they came up to the roof. "We should go back to work," she said with a slight alarmed expression. "It's like I'm looking to be fired," she grumbled, annoyed with herself for having her head in the clouds these last days.

He chuckled as he patted her shoulder in support. "Don't worry, you won't be. Miss Grant needs you too much."

"Right," she said, unconvinced. "She just doesn't want to waste her time looking for a new assistant."

"And also that, yeah," confirmed seriously Winn, making Kara sigh.

 

 

As Alex rode down the elevator, she thought about Cat Grant. She knew she was a journalist but she asked too much questions. She thought she was a good one with her having her own media empire, but all she was interested with was her relationship with Kara. Unless she suspected Kara being an Alien, she didn't know how that could be of interest for The Queen of all Media. She bit her lip as she thought, trying to figure the woman out.  
She concluded she didn't spend enough time with her to be able to understand her and decided to keep a close eye on her. She didn't like how she behaved with Kara, one moment cold and the other appreciative of her efforts. Kara must be all out of sort everyday if she dealt with this behavior daily and wondered how she put up with it. She knew. Kara was the strongest person she knew.

Getting out of the elevator, she spotted Vasquez waiting across from her. She made a beeline for the exit, not waiting for her colleague. Vasquez hurried to catch up to her, turning to her with a deep scowl. "I know you don't like me tailing you all day but you could be more pleasant," she complained in a whisper.

Alex barely glanced at her in response and kept walking towards the car. "We need to keep an eye on Cat Grant," she declared as she took her phone to text Henshaw, blatantly ignoring the agent.

"Does she suspect something ?" asked Vasquez, clearly worried. She walked around the car and got in, hands on the wheel as she waited for Alex to sit.

"I don't know," admitted Alex as she asked her Director to look out for Kara's boss. "She might. Or it might be something else," she added as she thought about how she lost her composure when she learned Kara's place exploded, and Alex felt ill at ease.

Vasquez glanced at her, feeling Alex deep in thoughts. She suppressed a knowing smile and drove away from CatCo, driving them back to the safe house.

Unlocking her door, she automatically closed it behind her without a look and she heard a bang that made her turn on her heels in a hurry, hand already on her gun. She'd never admit it, but she felt a little sorry for Vasquez and her now red forehead. "Sorry," she said as she tried to smother a laugh, feeling like it would be inappropriate to make fun of the agent in charge of her safety.

To her credit, Vasquez didn't so much as let out a cry of pain, barely grumbled as she walked in Alex's apartment and all but collapsed on the couch.  
Alex merely raised an eyebrow at Vasquez' nonchalance but said nothing, thinking that if she could get hit with a door in the face because of her and not say anything, Alex could let her make herself at home.

Her phone beeped, indicating a text. She looked at the text, satisfied when Henshaw said he would monitor Cat's activity to see if she tried to dig up more about their situation when she received another text.  
She smiled when she saw it was from Kara, quickly opening and reading it. "Kara," she groaned, seething. 

Vasquez' head that was hidden by the arm of the couch suddenly reappeared with a curious set of eyes. "What is it ?"

Alex sighed deeply, rubbing tiredly her forehead. "Kara... Thought it would be a good idea to reveal herself to her friend at work."

Letting her head drop on the arm of the couch with a  _thump_ , Vasquez grumbled. "Is she trying to kill us all ?"

"Maybe," Alex answered, hand passing through her short hair as she thought about what to do. "We have to go to his place tonight. 'To explain everything' she said." She rolled her eyes, wondering if Kara didn't lose her brain on her way to get Cat's lunch.

"Expla- We can't  _explain_ everything to a  _civilian,” Vasquez_ exploded. "Your life is on the line, you can't just-"

Alex glared darkly at her, arms crossed and chin high. "My sister makes her own decisions," she said icily. "If she thinks we can trust him, then we can. And don't think for a second she didn't think this through, she must have a good reason for telling him."

"With all due respect, I am here to protect you Ma'am. If I-"

"My sister makes her own decision, and so do I Agent Vasquez," she cut off harshly. Alex was confident that Vasquez had her best interest at heart, but she wouldn't let her walk all over her like that, she was still technically her boss. "Don't forget that you answer to me."

Vasquez frowned but eventually nodded, accepting that Alex knew Kara better than her. Still, letting a civilian, powers or not, telling another civilian about a terrorist attack  _and_ a secret government agency was more than risky, so she decided she'd stay alert, no matter what. She would still do whatever it took to protect her and, whatever Alex said, she answered directly to Director Henshaw, not Agent Danvers.

Alex gave her a curt nod, satisfied that Vasquez seemed to accept her authority and texted Kara back that they'd be there.  
She went into her room to have a moment to herself and think. She hoped she didn't tell Vasquez off for nothing and that Kara did have a plan of some sort.

She groaned as she let herself fall on the bed face first, tired of the situation. She was happy that Kara knew everything, but she felt so  _guilty_ for involving Kara into this mess after everything she did to protect her, going as far as lying to her for  _years._ She wasn't proud of it, but she would do it again and again if it meant keeping Kara safe.

As she drifted off to sleep, she let her mind wander and think about Kara and all the joy she felt around her. She could never do all of this without her, handle all of the stress and dread without knowing she'd come home to her. No matter where they were, Kara was a safe haven for her, always giving her a sense of belonging and peace.  
She didn't think she could love someone more than she loved Kara, although she didn't realize yet how much, and she didn't mind. Kara would always come first,  _always._

And she fell asleep with a smile on her face, content to forget everything but Kara. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope I didn't butcher the meeting with James _and_ the talk with Winn too much...  
>  And I know Kara and Alex didn't interact in this one, but it's the exception to the rule (if we forget the first few chapters), don't worry.
> 
> As usual, share your thoughts/concerns about the chapter/fic in the comments !


	18. Danvers Submit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I'm so sorry for the late update !
> 
> Work and life happened, then I also worked on some other stories... My bad.
> 
> I do hope you'll enjoy it though. 
> 
> As usual, comments are really appreciated !

There was an awkward silence as the two agents seized the short man up, making him uncomfortably squirm. They were in Winn's living room, all standing tensely.  
Kara had her arms crossed next to Winn, looking annoyed at her sister and Vasquez, while Winn was fidgeting nonstop with his tie, not knowing what to do. After a while, fed up with the intimidation technique they didn't even need to use as Winn was scared of everybody without reason, let alone two agents trained in combat, Kara sighed and threw her hands up in the air.

"Are you done ?" Her irritation was clear for everybody and Winn stilled in anticipation.

Alex and Vasquez glanced at each other, their years of working together allowing them to silently converse, and nodded, making Kara relax slightly.

"Okay, you're in," decided Alex, putting her hands on her hips.

Surprised, Winn's eyebrows shot up. "Just like that ?" The glare he received in return made him follow up quickly. "I mean, not that I- I don't, like, deserve it, but aren't you going to- I don't know, ask me questions or something ? Intimidate me into talking ?"

Alex rolled her eyes as Vasquez tried to hide a smile next to her, bowing her head. "You've seen too many movies Schott. And we already looked you up, don't worry." At Winn's gulp, Alex let her smirk grow wider. "With everything we got on you, I don't think you'll risk crossing us."

_There was the intimidation technique._

"Alex !" Kara hissed. "You don't need to threaten him, I told you we could trust him !"

Without taking her eyes off of Winn, Alex calmly answered Kara. "Better safe than sorry Kar'. I'm not risking it."

Kara was fuming. She told Alex that she revealed her identity to Winn because she didn't want any more secret between them, but if Alex was going to take advantage and scare her friend then maybe she shouldn't have told her then.  
Sensing Kara's anger, Winn nudged her shoulder with his, half a smile on his face.

"It's okay, they're just watching their backs. And yours," he reassured her.

Dropping her glare Kara kept on Alex since the beginning, her shoulders drooped resignedly. Alex was watching the exchange with interest, noting that Winn seemed to forgo his nervousness in favor of placating Kara.

"I think we should all relax," recommended Vasquez, always the calm and objective one. "Let's sit and talk."

After a beat Kara rolled her eyes as no one moved and plopped herself on the couch, feet automatically going on the coffee table as usual. Alex watched her with amusement and eventually followed, sitting next to her but more formally, feet on the ground.

Vasquez waited patiently to be invited to sit, standing straight and hands behind her back, always on duty. 

"Does someone wants something to drink ? I don't have much, bu-but-"

"Water will be fine, thank you Winn," Kara smiled, although a little forced, and looked at Vasquez through squinted eyes. "What are you doing, come sit !"

The agent glanced at Winn in silent question and it took him a moment to understand. "Oh, ye-yeah, sure, you can sit, wherever," he stammered before going to hide in the kitchen to get the water.

Vasquez sit carefully on a chair next to the couch, straight as an arrow, and waited patiently as the two sisters whispered with each other.

"Was it really necessary ?" accused Kara with annoyance clear in her voice.

Alex put a bent leg under her so she could properly face Kara, giving her all of her attention. "We need to be careful, we don't know who he really is. I mean, I did a background check on him after you met and invited him to your place, but nothing too thorough. And I dug deep this time, we have nothing to worry about." She frowned, recalling a disturbing detail. "He doesn't have the father of the year, but that doesn't mean anything. The DEO cleared him. Now we're sure and we won't have to wonder in dangerous situations if we did the right thing trusting him." She was looking into Kara's eyes, willing her to understand. "There's no feelings in this Kara," she said, softening a little. "We can't afford to be sentimental or emotional, not with lives at stake."

Kara stayed silent for a moment, listening to Winn taking out and dropping glasses in his agitation, muttering half decent cursed words. Finally, she turned toward Alex. "I get it, I do. But if we mistrust everyone and act like they're nothing but a useful pawn, who's going to willingly help us ?"

Alex was slightly taken aback, never have thought about it that way before because she wasn't trained to, rather the opposite. She sighed, taking Kara's hand and squeezing. "I see your point, and I'll make some... efforts with Winn, okay ? But- I'm not wired to think like that. And someone has to. I think we're a good team actually," smiling at the thought. "I'm distrusting everyone and using them, and you're trusting everyone and making them like us- or rather you. It works perfectly, we could dominate the world," she joked, trying to make Kara relax a little more.

She saw Kara trying to fight a smile but ultimately failed, snorted and pushing playfully Alex's shoulder. " _Fine,"_ she conceded, chuckling as Winn came back with a tray carrying four glasses of water.

"Took you long enough," teased Alex, less tense than before because Kara was less on edge about the whole thing.

"Well, I didn't want to intrude on the Danvers Submit," he bit back, his harsh tone being shadowed by his slight smirk.

There was a beat of silence before Vasquez blurted out a short laugh, cutting it off only thanks to years of experience, earning her three pair of eyes staring at her in a mix of surprise and disbelief. "Sorry," she promptly apologized, embarrassed to have let her emotions get away during a mission. The Danvers sisters and the little Hobbit may banter with each other between friends but Vasquez was still here on a mission, protecting Agent Danvers at all cost, and she worried that if she forgot herself for a minute it could cost them a lot.

Alex huffed and Kara chuckled, different reactions for the same thoughts. 

"You don't have to apologize-"

"Relax, Vasquez-"

Alex and Kara both looked at each other, no surprise on their faces as if they expected that it would happen, and maybe they did after so many years together. Kara chuckled again and Alex smiled softly because she loved when it happened, proof of their deep bond.

Vasquez didn't hide her smile this time, happy to oblige at the Danvers' insistence as they didn't risk much at Winn's place, the DEO having had the time to sweep the entire place beforehand. 

"Let's start. We shouldn't linger out in the open like this," Vasquez suggested.

Kara and Winn frowned in confusion while Alex nodded, immediately understanding her colleague's point of view. "Vasquez's right, we're too vulnerable in a place like this, so let's hurry it along," Alex confirmed, leaning in, elbows on her knees with a serious expression.

Unconsciously, Kara mimicked her poser, her feet now on the floor with a frown that conveyed her focus now. "Where do we begin ?" Kara wasn't sure where to start, there was so much to say : where she came from, what happened, who she was...

Winn hesitantly raised his hand while looking at Kara. "Can I start by asking questions ? I have so many," the last part said under his breath made Kara laugh.

"Sure you can, it may help," she agreed with an open smile, happy to answer.

"Great !" Winn shifted closer to the edge of his chair across from the two women in obvious excitation, making the agent on his left quietly chuckle. "Um, what planet do you come from ?"

The two agents tensed but Kara only gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, sadness and loss buried deep. "Krypton."

Winn straightened back at the answer as if he had been shoved. Brows furrowed, his eyes were shifting all through the room, unseeing, as he thought about what it meant. "Krypton ? But it-" Alex send him a glare in warning and he gulped. "Kara, I'm-"

"It's fine Winn, don't worry." She tried to appear nonchalant but everyone could see her hunched shoulders, and only Alex knew what it really meant.

No one liked to discuss their past tragedies to their friends, even less when it involved the destruction of a whole planet, a culture and everything you've ever known. And Kara tried so hard to hide the loss she felt every day, every second, behind a smiley and sunny mask, never wanting to burden anyone else with the weight she always carried with her.   
Now that Winn knew, Kara knew it wouldn't ever be the same. A tragedy is one thing, but a tragedy doubled with powers and a famous cousin was a lot to take in and more difficult to ignore.

"No, I'm sorry," he said meaningfully as he took her hand resting on her knee, leaning in to reach it. He squeezed before letting go at Kara's nod, leaning back in his chair. "Okay, so you're from Krypton," he munched at his lower lip, deep in thoughts. After a beat, his eyes widen and he almost chocked on his saliva. Kara sighed and Alex rolled her eyes as she leaned back against the couch, knowing what was coming. "Superman !" he gasped, not able to say anything else as the air seemed to have left his lungs for the foreseeable future.

"Yes, my cousin is-"

" _Cousin_?!" he shouted as he leaped out of his chair, hand on his chest over his heart. "Superman is your  _cousin_?!" he shouted again in disbelief. 

Kara knew to be patient on this one, his obsession with her cousin being one of the first things she noticed about him. "He is," she confirmed calmly, watching him pace two steps to the left, two steps to the right in a loop.

"Okay," he breathed out, clearly trying to calm down and Kara was starting to get worried as his heartbeat doubled in speed at the revelation. "Okay, that's fine." He took another moment before blowing out a big breath and sat again, hands on his lap. "Okay, you may proceed," he said as he gestured toward her with his hand.

Pursing her lips to hide her smile, Kara glanced at Alex to see if she was suppressing a smile too but frowned when she saw Alex's somber expression. Kara knew Alex worried about her, worried that Winn would choose Superman over Kara if need be.  
So she silently took Alex's hand and kept them on Alex's lap as she looked back at Winn.

"So, when Krypton exploded," she continued with a monotone voice, as if she was saying it for the hundredth time, "I was sent to Earth with my cousin to keep the bloodline alive. But Kal-El was sent first and my pod got caught in the explosion, making me drift off into the Phantom Zone." Her eyes were unseeing and her voice was cold. "Kal got to Earth on time but... I stayed in the Phantom Zone for 24 years give or take."

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop and Alex brought Kara back to reality when she touched her hair, fingers sliding along the light curls down to her back, hand staying there as she rubbed it with her thumb.  
Kara blinked, her eyes misty all of the sudden, and shook her head to get rid of the few tears that had gathered.

"There," Alex whispered, putting a glass of water in her hands.

Giving her a thankful smile, Kara took a sip and set it down back on the table.

"Kara... You don't have to tell me if it's too painful," assured softly Winn, pain in his eyes, but not pity. With the father he had, he knew better than pity other people's misfortunes. 

Vasquez had stilled during Kara's story. She would have never thought that she went through all of that because she was always smiling, always excited. But she guessed she shouldn't be surprised at the sisters' bond as it made much more sense now.

"It's okay, I just get emotional about it still," she smiled.

"Well, it's understandable," he said in a soothing voice, understanding.

She cleared her voice so she could talk over the lump in her throat. "Anyway, when I finally arrived on Earth I was still thirteen and Kal found my pod. He took off the lid and stood there in his full glory, suit and hands on his hips," she laughed, shaking her head as she remembered. "It wasn't funny back then because I didn't recognize him, I was expecting to see a baby ! But he was already grown up, wearing our family's crest proudly on his chest and didn't even speak Kryptonian, I was so confused," she chuckled.

Alex sent her a knowing look, aware of Kara's need to laugh about things that saddened or stressed her, which made her shrug. The hand that was on Kara's back slipped until it reached her far arm, Alex's arm now over Kara's shoulders, and rubbed up and down with more pressure.

He watched the two women smile at each other, leaning against each other with adoration in their eyes. "Oh, you're not from Earth," he stated in a whisper as another revelation hit him. "Oh, it makes so much more sense now."

Both Danvers frowned in confusion. "What does ?" asked Alex, tightening her hold on Kara.

His chair slid from under him and he found himself on his side, on the floor in less than a second, wheezing as the air left brutally his lungs. The Danvers shot a confused look at Vasquez who was pursing her lips with a slight frown. "Sorry, didn't think he'd fall," she said in place of an explanation as she put her foot flat on the ground, pulling it away from Winn's chair. Winn grunted, slowly getting up while he rubbed the arm he fell on, glaring at the agent.

Vasquez glared right back at him with a slight movement of her head, willing him to understand that he needed to  _shut up._

"What's... happening ?" Kara asked, glancing from Winn to Vasquez with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing," Vasquez answered sweetly as she looked at Kara with a smile before glaring at Winn again.

His head became as red as Superman's cape and he dropped his head in an attempt of hiding it, mumbling something as he went back into the kitchen to come back more composed.  
Kara shot Vasquez a confused look but she merely feigned ignorance with a shrug, eyes focusing on her nails.

Neither Danvers didn't like being kept out of the loop, especially by two people who didn't know each other and didn't seem to have talked without them being present. It was all too suspicious but they both felt too exhausted to threaten (Alex) or investigate (Kara), so they let it go. Kara dropped her head on Alex's shoulder and Alex closed her eyes, laying down her cheek on her sister's head, inhaling in contentment.   
Even if the situation was shitty at best, if they still had moments like these they could survive. Together.

"Everyone's acting weird," Kara complained in a whisper, brows furrowed in annoyance.

Alex shrugged, making Kara's head move along with her shoulder. "I don't even wanna know," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.

Kara hummed in agreement, closing her eyes too. The room was so quiet, so peaceful they could fall asleep right there, but Kara suddenly felt her skin prickle and her hair rise from the back of her head.  _Something's wrong._

She tensed, making Alex straighten, and in less than a second Alex found herself sheltered by an overturned couch and heard at the same time something that suspiciously sounded like a gunshot hitting something near her.  
She groaned as she tried to push the couch off of her but it was no use as something seemed to keep it firmly in place, effectively trapping Alex under it. She began to panic as she realized they were under attack. 

"Kara ?!" she shouted, her breath becoming quicker with worry. "Kara, are you okay ?"

"I'm fine," came the muffled reply, anger making it louder and easier to hear through her padded prison. There was a pause where there was only silence then a  _swoosh_  followed by a rustling soundbefore the voice was heard again, closer this time. "I'll take of it, stay hidden."

Her breath got stuck in her throat as she registered what Kara just told her. "Ka-  _No,_ you stay here !" She waited a beat for a response but when none came she lost it. "Kara ? Kara, you come back here !"

She tried again to move the couch and this time it did, no longer held down by Kara she guessed. She kept laying low, knowing the gun shot must have come from outside, and looked around.  
She was expecting a war zone because it felt like chaos when she was under the couch but everything was as it was before, nothing moved. Except for the couch and a fallen chair a little farther.

"Vasquez ?" she whispered, looking around trying to find her colleague and Winn. "Winn ?"

Her heart rate slowed minutely when Vasquez' head peeked from behind a wall, also laying low. 

"We're here. Kara hid us in the kitchen after the gunshot," she recounted. Seeing the look on Alex's face, she shook her head. "I don't know where she went, she's  _really_ fast. But I'm guessing she went after the shooter."

Alex wanted to scream but decided to use her frustration for something else. "Of course she did," she grumbled. "Winn's with you ?"

Winn's head appeared next to the agent, visibly trembling and ashen, and slowly nodded. She sighed in relief, glad they were all okay.   
Vasquez took her shoe off and threw it above Alex's head, watching the windows that were behind the couch. When no new gunshot followed, she nodded and rose to her feet before helping Winn up.  
Once everyone was standing, they took stock of the apartment. Seeing the tipped chair, Winn frowned and carefully approached it. 

"That's weird," he mumbled as he looked around, trying to figure out what happened there.

"What is it ?"

The voice coming from behind made him jump, still rattled by the gunshot. He looked over his shoulder to see Alex looking at him expectantly. "Something's missing," he replied as he looked at his opened closet and moved closer to open it, gasping. "She took-"

Everybody jumped and whirled at the same time towards the crashing sound followed by a heavy thump.

"I don't want to know why you have a copy of Superman's suit," said Kara, looking down at the tied up man she  _threw_ on the floor.

Everything was silent save for the grunts of the stranger on the floor as they all looked at Kara, hovering above him with a threatening glare, ready to use force if he were to move.

Suddenly, Winn, Alex and Vasquez seemed to regain their brain functions and all sprang into action at the same time.

Vasquez ran towards the mystery man, putting her feet against his sternum, point of her shoe brushing against his throat, just in case. Winn was flapping his arms around in panic, not knowing what to do and stayed in a corner next to his closet.

And Alex raced towards Kara, taking her by her shoulders as she looked at her body, trying to see if she was injured. In her panic, Alex noticed Kara's clothes were a bit different that what she came here with. "Why are you wearing that ?" she mumbled absentmindedly as she glanced down to make sure Vasquez was taking care of the man so she could push Kara backwards, distancing themselves from everyone.

Once a little farther away, Alex took the shoe Vasquez threw earlier and in turn threw it at Kara who squeaked at the unexpected violence, the object bouncing on her head. "Hey !"

"What did you think you were doing ?" Alex hissed angrily, poking strongly at Kara's chest with her finger, absolutely fuming.

Kara frowned deeply, swatting Alex's hand away. "What I had to ! And I was careful, I put on Kal's suit and took off my glasses after hiding everyone," she snapped, crossing her arms, hurt Alex didn't trust her.

As if reading her mind, Alex held Kara's arm. "This is not about trust, Kara. It's about safety, if you-"

"It is about safety !" Kara nearly shouted, gripping Alex's hand with hers without crushing it. "It's about  _your_ safety if you remember correctly." As Alex was going to interrupt, Kara kept going. "He was going to shoot you," she said, voice just above a whisper and Alex stopped breathing, surprised at Kara's sudden vulnerability. "He  _did_ shoot at you, aimed for your head. He almost killed you Alex, I can't- I won't let that happen." Though her eyes were watery and she seemed jumpy, her voice was strong and clear, the promise absolute. 

Alex gulped, trying to rein in her feelings in order to soothe Kara's. "I know," she softly said, squeezing Kara's hand in comfort. "But... You can't just take off like that and- I was blind, you can't do that, you can't hide me from knowing what's going on, especially when it concerns you."

After a beat Kara nodded, understanding her mistake while in the field. "I'm sorry, I didn't really think," she admitted in a small voice.

Warm hands cupped her cheeks, making her look up. "I know you didn't, meathead," Alex teased even though her voice was soft. "It's not fair of me, but- you can't do that next time. I was really worried, you have to tell me what's going on. But you did good," she praised, making Kara's cheeks go pink under her hands. Her eyes softened then had a glint in them as she looked down at Kara's body. "So, that's a nice suit," she remarked. 

Kara's pink cheeks became redder in a quick second as she looked down in turn.  
She put the suit on in a panic, not bothering checking if it fit or was even finished as it wasn't the real one, and took off in a hurry.  
It hang loose around her thin but tall figure, sleeves at least an inch longer, cape brushing the floor. The collar stopped just at a respectable spot and the pant legs covered her shoes. All in all, she looked a bit ridiculous and she didn't have a proper comeback to Alex's teasing. Thankfully, she didn't have the chance to try and embarrass herself even further.

"Um, Ma’am’s ?" Vasquez called out from the living room, still standing above the man Kara brought back. Alex turned around and Kara looked above Alex's shoulder, seeing Vasquez with an annoyed face. "If we could do something here," she said as she pointed at the man on the floor. "And then you can go back to your conversation after."

Kara flushed under Vasquez' scrutiny, dreading the possibility at being found out about her misplaced feelings for her sister, and Alex only rolled her eyes, not bothered to be interrupted because her conversation was necessary, and came closer.

Seeing Alex's look, Vasquez removed her foot from the man and stepped back. Looking at the agent's feet, Kara frowned and picked something up, handing it to her with a smile. With a grateful smile of her own, Vasquez took the shoe she threw, then that Alex threw, and put it back on. 

Winn was staying hidden in his corner, watching at the scene with wide eyes, terrified.  _Kara took the shooter into his home ! What the fudge Kara ?!_  
He must admit though that he was quite enjoying the fact that an actual Kryptonian wore the Superman's suit he personally replicated, to stop a bad guy no less. A real Superhero in a real-ish suit.

Crouching, Alex analyzed the situation at hand. The man, probably the shooter, was laying on the floor, both hands and feet tied up with some thick cable, and with a small gash above his head, bleeding. His wrists, and his ankles too she would guess, were red from the tight hold of the cable, proof that Kara's anger has been too great to calmly took him down.   
She glanced at Kara who was looking at him with anger, arms crossed, ready to act if he even moved an inch. 

"Shooter ?" asked Alex.

Kara confirmed it with a nod, her eyes never leaving his. Alex looked down on him, eyes locked with his fearful ones, and smirked menacingly. 

"So, it seems that you've been looking for me ?" 

 


	19. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know, the updates aren't as regular as in the beginning, sorry
> 
> I'm trying to finish [ As Sly As A Kryptonian ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16337297/chapters/38222618#main) but it's taking longer than expected _of course_  
>  So I posted this chapter even though it's not as long as the others so you'd know I haven't abandoned you
> 
> I hope your enjoy this short one !

That didn't work according to plan  _at all._ He was supposed to kill and run, as simple as that.

Easy target in an open location, it should have been done in less than an hour. Instead, he found himself attacked and tied up by a blonde who wore a bad replica of Superman's suit. He wanted to laugh at her but honestly her anger dissuaded him. It shouldn't have but the glowing and buzzing eyes, ready to fry him if he moved an inch, didn't really put his mind at ease.

Just thinking about her eyes and unmasked rage made him shudder.

"She asked you a question," spit out Kara, putting her foot on his knee, pressing a little to make her threat loud and clear.

Alex quickly glanced at her sister and clenched her jaw as she looked at the shooter once again. She wanted to tell her to calm down but her method seemed to work because the man immediately answered.

"I- I- I don't know !" he stuttered, visibly shaken. At Alex's scary glare he crunched his eyes closed, shaking his head. "I- I mean, I was hired to- to kill you." Cold sweat was running down his forehead and he was trembling, not used to be this helpless against enemies. He was used to be kidnapped and beat up, but not this close to actually being arrested (he read Alex's file, knew she was a government agent) or killed in a second by this Alien.

Everyone shared a look, realizing they found a lead. Even if that lead was ready to piss himself.

"Who did ?" asked Alex, eager to learn who she had to thank for her new living accommodation.

The room was heavy with anticipation and suspense, everyone leaning in a little as they held their breath for the awaited answer.

"I don't know," he answered in a small voice, watching fearfully as Alex pursed her lips and Kara pressing a little more on his leg. "I don't !"

Kara stopped pushing on his leg and tried to listen to his heart, pushing away all unnecessary noises.

"Don't lie," she warned, ready to carry out her earlier threats.

"I'm not !" he denied, shaking his head with wide eyes.

His heart was beating really fast but it didn't stutter as he spoke. No lie.

She relented a little the pressure on his leg, releasing some of the pain he felt, and turned to look at Alex who was already waiting for her verdict. She shook her head in silent confirmation and Alex's shoulders slumped in defeat. They were so close to knowing who wanted to kill Alex, but they were back to square one.

She took a deep breath, trying to see the bright side as Kara always did. Even if they still didn't know who hired him he was still a lead, a way to connect Alex to the people who wanted her dead.

"How did you know who to kill then ?" she asked, calmer than before.

His wild eyes were looking everywhere, surely trying to find an exit, but he was tied and surrounded. He closed his eyes for a second before giving up. "A messenger," he said with a steadier voice. "I was contacted by someone they hired to find and hire me. They definitely don't want to be found. And I'm beginning to know why," he complained in a whisper, annoyed. At Kara's warning pressing foot he quickly followed up. "I'm- I'm not sure, but the messenger may know more," he offered, happily taking the burden off his shoulders.

"Where would we find him ?" asked Vasquez, addressing him for the first time.

He turned his head as much as he could to look at the Agent who was behind him. "I don't know. The messenger found me to offer me the job and then gave me a time and place when I accepted."

Alex squinted at him. "Why did you accept ?" she asked curiously. It seemed quite quick to accept killing someone. 

He shrugged as much as he could in his position, looking straight at Alex. "Needed the money. It's a job, it's not personal."

"It is when a person's life's at stake," Kara countered through gritted teeth, furious at the nonchalance the attacker displayed. "We're talking about murder !"

The shooter recoiled and grunted as Kara pushed a little more than necessary with her foot, lost in her anger. His face was beet red with fury, fear and pain and Alex didn't want those emotions to be caused by Kara. That wasn't right.

Not wanting to out Kara's name, Alex settled on gripping her forearm and tightened her hold as much as possible in a warning, managing to successfully glare at Kara even in her crouched position.

Kara watched the trembling man for a second longer before blinking as if she just registered the pressure on her arm, turning her head slightly and looked down at Alex that was glaring at her. She frowned like she was wondering why Alex was stopping her and took a step back, causing Alex to reluctantly release her arm, then took another step and crossed her arms over her chest.

Sighing, Alex looked back at the attempted murderer. "So, I guess your boss didn't tell you we had a special bodyguard, huh ?" she smirked as she gestured toward Kara with her head. Upsetting the attempted murderer via his ego was a good tactic she learned at the DEO and she was glad the shooter was a man. Seeing his clenched jaw, she felt her smirk widening a little, making her look more dangerous. "They don't seem to care much about your life... I wonder if they're really trustworthy," she pondered out loud, feigning curiosity when she was just trying to make him turn on them. "But that's fine, I guess they paid you beforehand, right ?"

At the man's silence, she felt the win coming. "How were they going to pay you ?" This time it was Winn asking, leaving his little spot in the shadow of the corner of his house. "And when ? How were you going to prove her death ?"

Alex blinked because she hadn't thought of that and felt shame at being outsmarted by a civilian, even if he technically was a genius. She was one too. 

Kara heard his heart double take and Winn just asked the right question. "You better answer. I don't have much patience but the little I have is wearing thin. I promise you, I haven't done anything to scare you yet," she threatened angrily, ready to break a limb or two if necessary. 

Vasquez' eyebrows shot up in surprise and Alex gritted her teeth, hating what all of this situation had done to Kara's sunny personality. Winn rolled his lips in while looking elsewhere as if she just burned him with a thick retort.

The shooter gulped audibly and nodded dumbly before actually answering. "M- My phone, I was supposed to send them a picture. Or coordinates if I couldn't."

"Coordinates... So they could check themselves," Kara rightly guessed before anyone, and an idea slowly came to her. She had a somber expression and Alex could see the wheels turning in her head.

Alex stood up and turned to talk to her, worried about what she was planning, leaving Vasquez responsible for the failed murderer of the week.

"We need to talk," she said under her breath as she headed towards the only available room, the bathroom, knowing Kara would clearly hear her.

She entered the room and held the door opened, waiting for Kara to come in and closed it after her. She had this intense look on her face, the one Alex had only seen a handful on times on her sunny and happy sister. It meant she was focused and nothing could distract her from her goal.   
Alex still had to try though because she had a feeling Kara's idea wasn't a good or a safe one.

"What are you planning ?" she asked, going straight to the point. She knew it didn't do either of them any good to beat around the bush, especially as they didn't exactly have all the time in the world right now. They had a shooter to scare.  

Kara's face lit up but not brightly like usual, more somber and darker. It worried Alex. "I'll pretend to be you, dead," she exclaimed excitingly, like it was supposed to make Alex happy somehow. "We'll send the coordinates from the guy's phone and I'll be waiting."

Alex pressed her hand on her forehead in an attempt to keep a headache at bay. "Kara..." she sighed while closing briefly her eyes.

"A picture would be better though... Do you think I could pull off you haircut ?" Kara wondered out loud, and Alex looked up and realized she was serious. "Probably not, no one rocks a bob cut like you do," she said with a smile, genuine and warm, like her old Kara.

Alex blushed despite the situation, despite herself, and made an effort to remain on the subject. "Kara, you can't do that."

"I won't cut my hair," she scoffed, like it was obvious she was joking. "It makes look you hot but it'll make me look like a kid, can you imagi-"

Seeing Alex's dumbfounded expression, Kara mentally backtracked and her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she just said and immediately shut her mouth with an audible  _click_ as she felt warmth creeping up from her neck.

Now, old Alex would have simply raised an eyebrow and moved past the comment easily. New Alex though had trouble not focusing on that one word that escaped Kara's mouth, now tightly shut, as she was feeling... things now regarding Kara. New things, unidentifiable things. Things.

Kara, also feeling things, but  _identifiable_ things, felt her ears burning and felt like the room was hot _-_ not hot, definitively not hot, no one said the word  _hot_ ever ! The room felt  _warm,_ too warm and she needed to get out, because not being able to breathe because of a slip of the tongue wasn't how she wanted to go. She imagined a good and honorable death, not a ridiculous and embarrassing one.

"I- I mean, it suits you, that's what I meant to say !" she quickly backpedaled. "You know, like, I don't think you're  _hot,"_  she rambled with a nervous laugh, too loud to be natural, and cringed as she realized what she just said. She decided to keep digging her own grave by trying to explain what she meant and at the same time cover up her accidental confession. "Not that you're  _not_ hot, I don't- I mean, how should I-" She loudly groaned and covered up her face with her hands, trying to hide her horrified expression. "Rao..." she whined quietly into her hands though Alex still heard it. 

Once Alex came back to her senses, halfway through Kara's rambling, she tried to keep her own feelings at the back of her mind, safely locked inside a box never to be opened. Taking in the state Kara was in, she squared her shoulders even though she didn't know why, ready to push through her own awkwardness.  
Kara didn't mean anything weird or inappropriate by calling Alex hot. No, she merely commented on Alex's fashion sense in an objective manner, trying to make light of the situation so Alex wouldn't yell at her some more. Yeah, that had to be it. Because Kara didn't have any feelings for Alex that weren't sisterly, not like Alex did.

Alex almost chocked on nothing but air as she realized where her mind just went to. Non sisterly feelings ? Where did  _that_ came from ? Alex didn't... Right ? That wasn't something she felt, it couldn't be.  _Alex_ didn't feel anything weird or inappropriate for Kara, that was preposterous ! 

She felt like she couldn't inhale all of the sudden, like something blocked her airways and felt really dizzy. Nothing made sense. Her whole relationship with Kara, her feelings and emotions were all over the place and weren't right anymore. That wasn't right. 

"-lex ?"

She gulped painfully, her throat too tight, and looked back at Kara. Kara who was looking at her with furrowed eyebrows, the Crinkle in plain sight, and hands were hanging between them as if Kara wanted to reach out but stopped midway. Kara was worried. Worried for her sister who was thinking terrible things. 

Clearing her throat, Alex tried to leave all of her feelings behind, tried to feel numb. Feeling too little instead of too much so she could talk to Kara like a normal human being.

"It's okay," she croaked, voice still hoarse, saying it as much for Kara's rambling as to answer Kara's worries. "It's fine. I don't want you to play dead though," she continued, pushing through her burning desire to flee the room. She put a hand up to stop Kara from protesting. "I don't care. They had bombs that could take you down. I'm not risking it," she said with finality, challenging Kara to defy her decision. 

After a long moment with Kara debating in her mind, weighing up the pros and cons, she finally nodded slowly, visibly unsatisfied with Alex's choice. 

"Good," Alex murmured with a slight nod, and turned to leave the room.

Hand on the handle, Kara's voice stopped her. "Wait ! I just- earlier-"

"We'll talk later," Alex interrupted over her shoulder, looking in Kara's direction but never directly at her. "We have a bad guy to interrogate," she rushed out as an excuse, equally happy and ashamed to avoid the conversation.

She pushed the door opened and made her rushed exit, not waiting for Kara's answer and completely missing her broken look.

"I fudged up..." Kara whispered sadly, mistaking Alex's ashamed look for a disgusted one.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I'm trying to make the slow burn a little less slow but as it's my first fic I'm having trouble with the romantic side
> 
> Please, _please_ let me know what you thought about it so I can make some changes in the next chapters if need be
> 
> Thank you !


	20. Push through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm really sorry about the late update. I know I have several ongoing (plus ones I haven't posted yet) fics and I'm trying not to favor one more than others, so here I am, updating almost a month later. That's okay, you can yell at me in the comments. I understand.
> 
> I struggled with this one though, took more time to write than I thought. Stuff happens.
> 
> I really hope you'll like it !

When Kara finally got herself together enough to leave the bathroom, her face back to its normal color, she went to join the others. She entered the living room but kept quiet, watching as the room was filled with a veil of dread and fear; and annoyance because the shooter kept threatening everyone.  
  
“You really should let me go,” the shooter warned, face red with anger. “I have friends in high places.”  
  
Kara watched as Alex slowly crouched next to the man and condescendingly patted his cheek. “What exactly makes you think that you'll be able to contact them again ?”  
  
The man stilled as Alex’s words registered and slowly realized he was done for. He seemed to only stay physically as his mind wandered away, maybe to happier places to try and escape this new reality where he might never see the sun again.  
  
Satisfied she got her message across, Alex excused herself to make a phone call and went into Winn’s bedroom. Despite not being big on listening in conversations she wasn’t a part of, Kara still let her hearing wander around the apartment until it caught Alex’s voice.  
  
“I know Sir, but this is an emergency.”  
  
“ _Fine_ ,” the man on the other end of the line grumbled.  
  
There was a beat of silence when Alex took a deep breath, trying to regain some composure so she could explain the mess they were actually in.  
  
“We may have a lead, Sir. Someone tried to kill me a few minutes ago, a sniper. Everything’s fine but we have the shooter in custody right now.”  
  
There was a long sigh, expressing all of Henshaw’s exasperation, before the Director started asking for more details. “ _Where are you ? Who is there ?_ ”  
  
“We’re at Kara’s friend’s place. Kara had to tell him about her being an alien so he could make sure no one recognized her on the video of her saving the plane,” she explained calmly. “Then a sniper shot me but Kara protected me and caught him then brought him here.”  
  
For a moment, Alex actually thought her boss hung up on her until his voice was heard again, his frustration clearer than ever. “ _So your sister just outed herself to a civilian when an unknown terrorist group is trying to kill you_ ,” he recounted, like he couldn’t believe the stupidity of the alien.  
  
Kara gulped loudly, dropping her head in shame as she stopped listening to Alex’s conversation.  
She put her sister in danger just to try to protect herself, how selfish could she be ? She swore she’d put Alex first and she jeopardized her life in order to stay unknown to the world. What a joke.  
  
“Kara, are you okay ?” Winn asked while hesitantly putting his hand on her shoulder, offering some comfort.  
  
Kara startled a little, too engrossed in her negative thoughts to notice him approaching. “Yeah,” she said too quickly before smiling apologetically and taking a step back. “Yeah, it’s a lot happening, that’s all.”  
  
It was an understatement. When Alex told her she was working with the DEO as an agent she knew she put herself in harm’s way, but never actually saw it. Witnessing an attempted murder was bad enough, but on her sist- on her Alex it was way worse. Worse that she would have thought, and she had a vivid imagination for horror.  
  
When she heard the gunshot and immediately reacted, it was pure instinct and quick reflexes.  
When she caught the bullet where Alex’s head was not a second before, it was rage that lead her to find and rough the shooter up a bit.  
  
It was the first time she was afraid of herself in a long time, Alex having helped her through the years to be okay with letting herself go while interacting with humans. Having super-strength wasn’t the great gift everybody thought it was, it was constant worrying and calculating every move not to hurt anyone. It was tiring.  
And yet, she threw caution in the wind as she took flight, speeding right to the man and almost let her anger dictate her actions. She stopped her heat-vision at the last second, hearing Alex panicking back at the apartment and letting her voice remind her she was still alive.  
  
She still let herself be a little rough when tying him up, knowing it’ll burn and leave red marks on his wrists and ankles but didn’t care. On the contrary, she took great pleasure in making him uncomfortable. She’d feel guilty about that later.  
  
It was now later, and the guilt she felt was overwhelming. Shame too.  
She’s been too careless, not grasping in how much danger Alex actually was in. Watching her place go down was a big indicator, sure, but the adrenaline and everything that happened after just made it seem a little less big.  
Having outed herself to the world while saving the place, discovering Alex was working at the DEO, finding out a substance called Kryptonite could hurt her and all the deep conversations she had with her sister since really didn’t help put the attempted mass murder in perspective.  
  
Watching as a bullet took Alex’s head’s place did put things in perspective though. She found a new found strength she didn’t know she had, her mindset now in the direction of attack and no longer defensive. She’d become anyone to save Alex, become anything.  
  
Respecting Kara’s clear need for space, Winn shot her an understanding smile and backed off. He stood near Agent Vasquez who was lifting a now lethargic wannabe murderer on a chair, tying his hands again so he wouldn’t be able to get off the chair.  
She hoped he’d try to escape though, she really wanted to see him try running with the chair stuck to his ass.  
  
There was a tense moment that lasted until Alex came back where everyone just waited for her, the silence deafening.  
When Alex did come back a few minutes later, she strode right to the man and slammed her feet on the chair between his legs, making him tense up in anticipation of what was coming.  
  
“What’s your name buddy ?” she asked, inches separating their faces.  
  
She could feel him shivering and saw the sweat dripping from his forehead. “I’m- I’m not telling your m-my name,” he stuttered, pushing through the fear and speaking through gritted teeth to stop them from clattering.  
  
A dangerous smirk appeared on Alex’s face and, from her place in the far corner of the room, Kara worried about what Alex had planned for her prisoner.  
  
She inched closer until her mouth was right next to his ear. “You sure about that ?” she whispered dangerously before leaning back to enjoy the look of pure dread in his eyes.  
  
He didn’t answer, only stared at her as he waited to see what she was going to do. Surely a government agent wouldn’t use torture to get what she wanted, it wasn’t legal. Although… A secret agency trained to take down aliens without being public would most likely resort to such ways in order to gain informations that could save the world.  
  
Her smirk only grew as he didn’t respond and she straightened up and spoke without turning around, keeping her eyes on her victim. “Guys, can you give us the room please ?”  
  
Vasquez immediately went next to Alex and talked to her in a low voice, only the shooter and Kara hearing her. “Danvers, are you sure about this ? The DEO can take care of him.”  
  
Kara saw Alex clench her fists as she tilted her head towards Vasquez. “I’m not taking care of him Agent, I’m taking care of the situation. He went to find me and erase me from existence, it’s only right I return the favor.”  
  
That wasn’t something she ever thought hearing from her sister and Kara didn’t know how to react. She was an agent on a mission and knew what to do, she was used to these kind of situations. On the other end, maybe it was just revenge. Should she stop her ?  
She stayed rooted in her spot in the dark lit corner, too indecisive to actually take a decision. But Vasquez took one for her and she was grateful.  
  
“She should stay with you,” the agent said to Alex, tilting her head towards Kara in order to not say her name, “just in case.”  
  
“She really shouldn’t,” Alex replied with a tense jaw, visibly fuming that her colleague was suggesting keeping her innocent sister in the room while she was torturing a man.  
  
But Vasquez wasn’t backing down. She wasn’t stupid, she knew Alex and knew how far she could take things when too emotionally invested. And right now she was. She also knew the only person capable of calming her down was Kara, so if she had to witness some bloodshed in order to stop her from taking it too far, then she’d make Kara do it.  
  
“Don’t I get a say in this ?” Kara asked suddenly, still sitting near the window.  
  
Alex slowly turned around and looked at her sister. “K—,” she sighed, glancing at the shooter cause she almost slipped on Kara’s name in front of him. “You’re not staying for this.”  
  
“And I’m not letting you do this alone,” she retorted, channeling her fear into protectiveness. “Killing him isn’t going to solve things Alex, you don—”  
  
“Wait, what ?”  
  
Kara frowned when Alex interrupted her, the confusion in her voice stopping her dead in her tracks. “What ?”  
  
“Ka— Listen, I’m not going to kill him,” Alex said.  
  
“Oh,” she breathed out, feeling the tension leaving her body at the same time she saw the man’s shoulders sag with relief. “Then, what were you talking about ?” She was still confused about the situation.  
  
Out of the corner of her eyes, Kara saw Agent Vasquez freeze and Alex minutely tensed. “I’m just going to talk with him for a bit,” she blatantly lied.  
  
“Alex— ” Kara hissed.  
  
“I might use some force to show him the best way is to tell the truth,” Alex cut her off with a raised hand. “But he’ll live.” She forced herself not to add “barely” under her breath knowing her foster sister would hear her. “So you can join Winn in the other room. You too, Vasquez,” she glared at her colleague.  
  
“Oh, I’m still staying,” Kara clarified. “Just in case.”  
  
Arms crossed and standing straight, Kara was a vision of strength and determination, a force to be reckoned with. She’d also be a lot more intimidating if she wasn’t still wearing the too large Superman’s suit, the cape dusting the floor.  
Still, Alex recognized Kara’s stubbornness and knew there was nothing she could do now to stop her from doing what she wanted. And right now, she wanted to witness Alex’s darkest parts. So be it.  
  
“Fine. Your choice.”  
  
She knew her tone was cold and her behavior unlike herself, but she couldn’t help it.  
This man tried to kill her in front of Kara. Kara. Her everything. Her foster sister who already witnessed her world ending, knowing it was going to happen as she kissed her parents goodbye without being able to do anything about it.  
A woman who saw her only living relative just ignoring her in favor of living his own life in the city, abandoning her to a family of strangers. Of aliens.  
  
Kara couldn’t take any more deaths, any more disasters. And she’d make sure she wouldn't have to.  
  
The silence was tense. Kara and Alex were staring each other down, Vasquez and Winn were trying not to make any noise to stay unnoticed, and the fifth wheel well…  
  
“Are you going to let her torture me ?” he suddenly shouted and all heads turned toward him. The ropes Vasquez tied him up with were creaking under the strain, the man leaning in anger. “Are you all crazy ?!”  
  
Having lost all patience, Alex leaned forward and pushed him by the throat with her forearm, causing him to cough and become even redder. “Don’t you see the adults are talking ? So be quiet. ”  
  
Her low voice caused everyone to still, the tone dangerous and so icy it sent chill down everyone’s spine.  
  
“Alex…” Kara breathed out, shocked and at the same time unsurprised by Alex’s reaction. She understood her anger really well.  
  
“Ma’am,” Vasquez lowly warned, taking a step forward.  
  
Winn was beginning to think he was going to be traumatized by this scene alone, feeling his heart beating harder than ever and actually feeling pain in his chest. He recoiled at every word said by Alex, slowly and unconsciously retreating until his back touched the wall.  
Kara was hearing her ears ringing, the whole situation making her freeze in fear. She hoped Vasquez was going to do something, or that the DEO would show up, that someone would help.  
But it was wishful thinking, she was the only one able to talk Alex down and she knew it. She just didn’t know if she could right now.  
  
The man was beginning to look more blue than red, wheezing because he couldn’t inhale anymore as Alex still had her arm to his throat, blocking his airways.  
The sight caused Kara to come back to life, imagining him pale and cold, dead by the hands of her sister.  
  
“Alex !” she called out loud this time, watching Alex staying still for a couple of seconds more before slowly removing her arm, the man coughing violently as he could breathe again.  
  
Alex, still as slowly, straightened up and stared down at the shooter with a look of contempt and tried to relax as much as possible. She couldn’t lose her cool like that again, especially in front of Kara.  
  
Trying to get his breathing under control, he started to smirk and looked up at Alex with vicious eyes. “You don’t even know what’s coming,” he croaked, his voice hoarse because of the red marks on his neck. “You and blondie don’t stand a chance.”  
  
Screw not losing control in front of Kara, she thought before kicking him with all her strength right to his chest. He fell backward, the chair breaking under the weight of the blow, and cried out in pain as much as he could with his damaged vocal cords.  
  
She stood over him with a menacing expression, slowly raising her feet before gently putting it over his outstretched leg, right on the knee.  
  
The air changed all of the sudden, any hope Alex would keep it together disappeared, and they all felt like they could snap from the tension at any moment.  
  
Winn was whimpering in his corner, trying to hide his eyes but ultimately looking through his fingers not to miss a moment.  
  
Vasquez was still next to Alex, ready to move if she thought she’d do something she might regret in the heat of the moment.  
And Kara was also by Alex’s side in a second, hand on her arm both in a warning and a soothing gesture. I’m here, remember ?  
  
But Alex only removed her arm from Kara’s grasp easily because Kara wasn’t putting any strength, and kept staring down at a now terrified, trembling, pathetic excuse of a man.  
  
“You really should learn to pick your battles.” She was smirking a little but her voice was cold. Dead.  
  
Taking all of her frustration from Hank’s call and Kara’s feelings she caused (fear, anguish, anger and awkwardness), Alex put all of her weight on his leg until a loud crack echoed in the quiet room and a loud cry of pain followed.  
He was wriggling on the floor, his face contorted in pain as he panted. His chest and leg were on fire, his throat burning with every breath he took, and couldn’t think as pain was overwhelming all of his body.  
  
“Alex !”  
  
Alex distantly felt Kara's warm hands around her and was teleported in an instant to Winn’s bedroom and sit on the bed, Kara kneeling before her with both hands on her shoulders. She could hear muffled cries through the closed door, Kara’s murmurs getting lost in the loud buzzing in her head.  
What made her return to the present was Kara’s fingers digging painfully into her shoulders, the pressure making her hiss in pain.  
  
“Don’t touch me,” she mumbled. Or she hoped she did, still only hearing the ringing in her ears as if a bomb just detonated near her. She was slowly coming back to herself and was feeling more and more Kara’s hands, rubbing her arms up and down.  
  
Kara scowled at Alex’s numb tries to swat away her hands, trying to put distance between them. “Stop it,” she chastised, persevering in trying to touch Alex to ground her. “Alex, stop !”  
  
Apparently finding her voice again, Alex pushed Kara away more forcefully this time. “Don’t touch me !” she shouted.  
  
Now sitting on the floor after Alex pushed her, Kara looked her with a dumbfounded expression, not believing her sister was this hostile towards her.  
Alex’s voice was obviously loud enough to be heard all the way to the living room because someone knocked repeatedly on the bedroom’s door a few seconds later.  
  
“Everything’s okay ?” Vasquez urgently asked while keeping on knocking.  
  
“Yeah”, Kara squeaked, still taken aback by Alex’s behavior. She was now hugging her knees close to her chest on the bed, head hidden between her arms around her legs. “Yes !” she called louder since the knocking hasn’t stopped.  
  
Vasquez did stop knocking but lingered at the door, hesitating. So Kara got up and half-opened the door to peek outside, seeing the agent waiting anxiously. “What is it ?” Vasquez whispered, knowing Alex was on the other side of the door.  
  
She was all fidgety, most likely slightly shaken by Alex’s actions and worried about her. Kara sure was glad she had colleagues that cared.  
  
“She’s…” Kara looked over her shoulder to look at Alex, still hiding in her arms, “managing.”  
  
Vasquez hummed, looking behind Kara to see Alex visibly troubled. “I’ll let you deal with this situation while I take care of the other.” She gestured behind her with her head, towards the living room filled with cries of pain. “I can’t leave Mr. Schott alone with him.”  
  
Kara nodded seriously before slowly closing the door again and putting her forehead against it as she listened to Vasquez join Winn. She turned around, facing a now calmer version of Alex.  
  
She was still sitting on the bed but now cross-legged, staring down at her clenched fists laying on her lap.  
There was a moment of silence before Kara sighed and decided join her on the bed, the mattress dipping as she took her place next to her sister.  
  
“How are you feeling ?” she asked quietly, voice full of concern.  
  
“Managing,” Alex curtly replied, using Kara’s earlier words against her, gaze still fixed on her hands.  
  
Feeling the hurt in Alex’s tone, Kara slowly inched closer and took one of her hands in hers then proceeded to gently rub her thumbs along the knuckles, trying to relax the tension in every muscle she could touch.  
She kept the soothing gestures until she felt Alex give up and her hand slacken under her fingers, smiling when she felt Alex lean on her, shoulder to shoulder.  
  
“Talk to me,” she murmured.  
  
Alex immediately buried her head in Kara’s neck and Kara automatically put her arms around her, resulting in Alex sitting in Kara’s lap while the latter hugged her, Alex’s head still in the crook of her neck.  
  
“I don’t know how to deal with this,” she eventually admitted, Kara shivering at the feeling of Alex’s breath on her skin. “I was fine dealing with dangerous situations before, but now you’re involved. I can’t have you involved Kara, I can’t.”  
  
Kara tightened her hold, knowing Alex needed the reassurance she was still here. “I’m where you are, Al’,” she said simply, closing her eyes as she put her cheek on top of Alex’s head. “I want to be where you are, even more so if you’re in danger. I can protect you, so let me.”  
  
She felt Alex trying to break her hold so she let her, not wanting to leave (more) bruises on her, and Alex scowled at her when she put enough distance to be able to look at her in the eyes. “Well, I don’t want you to ! This is not your job, this is not your place Kara, it’s mine. This is what I was meant to do, so let me do it.” Seeing Kara’s disapproving look only made her lose it even more. “No, don’t look at me like that. I’m not your responsibility and- and I’m not- I’m doing something that matters and I don’t need protecting.”  
  
That felt important, the way she said it. The way she was instantly defensive and objected to Kara’s need to help her.  
  
“Alex, you almost died tonight.” The sadness dripping from her tone was so obvious that Alex became a little choked up, but she pushed through.  
  
“This isn’t the point Kara. The point is you shouldn’t be here.”  
  
The words felt like a slap in the face to Kara, a slap that she could actually feel and felt like she could have bled from it. She was so stunned that she almost didn’t feel Alex drag herself out from Kara’s loose embrace and only watched but didn’t see her pace along the room.  
For an alien that felt like she belonged nowhere, those words were the worst thing she could have heard from the person she loved the most, the thing she dreaded hearing since arriving on Earth. After a few years, she began relaxing, thinking she got close enough to Alex that she’d never hear those kind of words.  
  
She was wrong.  
  
But she, too, pushed through. “I know where I belong Alex, and that’s with you !”  
  
“Don’t—” Alex crunched her eyes shut while putting a hand up. “Don’t say that.”  
  
“Don’t say what ? I thought that was our thing, that we belonged together. Always . What changed ?”  
  
Kara was feeling something between anger and sadness and she didn’t know how to stop her voice from cracking, the emotions too high and taking hold of her throat making the words come out strangled.  
  
“What changed is,” she took a deep breath, “me. I changed and I don’t need you here, I need you far from here.”  
  
“What are you talking about ?”  
  
The broken whisper almost made Alex crumble, but she stood strong. I know this is hard, but stand your ground Agent Danvers. The strong voice telling her to do the hardest thing of her life was repeating itself in her head, telling her to push through the obstacles. To push away the most important person of her life.  
  
“I’m talking about how- how it’s not healthy to be this close, Kara. This is not right, you know that.”  
  
Alex wasn’t sure how she spoke with such a clear voice, never wavering, but she did and she regretted it. If she hasn’t been strong enough to keep her voice from trembling, maybe Kara would have detected the lie even through her emotional daze right now.  
  
Kara did know that. She always knew that, but she also thought Alex wanted this too. She thought this was what they both needed.  
  
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears immediately spilling from her shiny sad eyes, making Alex’s heart clench in hurt. “I thought— It doesn’t matter.” She always imagined this day would come, but her recent feelings towards Alex made this so much harder. “I’ll— I’ll stay away, I’ll keep my distance if you need, just— let me help you, please !”  
  
Begging wasn’t something she thought she’d do today, but she also didn’t think she’d keep Alex from being murdered either.  
  
Alex was beginning to think her teeth were going to shatter under the strain of her clenched jaw, and hands were hurting, fingers digging in her palms in an effort of stopping herself from reaching out to her sister. It was her worst nightmare coming to life. Actually, it was even worse, because her worst nightmare was Kara not needing her anymore, Alex would be miserable but Kara would be happy.  
Now though, Alex was hurting Kara. Hurting her. On purpose.  
  
The conversation she earlier had with J’onn on the phone replays in her head.  
  
_“Sir, she has to protect herself too,” Alex defended, not liking how he implied her sister didn’t think about her._  
  
_“She put you in danger, Agent Danvers, the opposite of what we’re trying to do here.”_  
  
_“She saved my life !” she half-shouted, still whispering to try and keep a semblance of privacy and strongly hoping Kara wasn’t listening._  
  
_“Danvers,” he sighed, “she can’t stay.”_  
  
_Alex scoffed. “Well, good luck trying to make her leave. She just lost her apartment and her sister is in danger, I doubt she’ll just go that easily but you’re welcome to try.”_  
  
_There was a heavy silence and was Alex beginning to understand._  
  
_“You’re the one telling her. I may not know her, but I see your relationship. She’ll listen to you.”_  
  
_“Sir,” she almost pleaded, her tone panicky, “Sir, I can’t do that. She— She helped us, she—”_  
  
_“She’s a civilian,” he cut her off. “She may have powers and the will to put her life on the line to protect you, but she’s no soldier. She will become a liability and you know that. She’ll put your life in danger and hers at the same time. I don’t think that’s what you want, Agent Danvers.”_  
  
_Alex was taking deep breath, trying to find a solution so she wouldn’t have to tell Kara she couldn’t stay. “She can follow orders, Sir. You—”_  
  
_“She’ll follow orders until he decides not to. You know that. If she worries about you, she can’t focus on the task given. We can’t risk that. You know that,” he said again._  
  
_He was making some very compelling arguments and Alex couldn’t deny how right he was. She knew Kara and knew she’d drop everything to come to Alex if she wanted to. And that could cost them the mission. He was right._  
  
_“Sir, she won’t listen to me,” she whispered, worried her voice would crack. “You know how stubborn I am. She’s even worse.”_  
  
_She heard him sigh, like he was preparing himself saying something he didn’t want to. “You know her better than anyone. You’ll find something. I find that saying hurtful things works wonders. I know this is hard, but stand your ground Agent Danvers. That’s for her own good.”_  
  
_She knew he was right, again, and gritted her teeth to stop herself from snapping at him. “Yes, Sir.”_  
  
She was beginning to think working for the DEO wasn’t for her after all as she gathered all the courage she had to say the next words.  
  
“I don’t need your help Kara, and I don’t want it,” she snapped. “I can’t— can’t take this anymore, you need to go.”  
  
Alex took down Aliens on a daily basis, she lied to her confidant for years, she lost her father and took her mother’s criticism during all of her childhood.  
She protected Kara from the day she got on Earth, even against her own will in the beginning, and punched children and adults alike when she was a child who would mock Kara.  
She didn’t have an easy life, but that was easily the hardest thing she ever had to do.  
  
Seeing Kara’s face crumble in tears, cheeks red and eyes bluer than she ever saw them, she also saw Kara clench her jaw and stand a little taller.  
  
“I don’t care what you want,” she bit back, eyes watery but determined. “And I don’t care what you think you need, I’ll protect you whether you want it or not.”  
  
The hardest thing she ever had to do was becoming more and more difficult as Kara also stood her ground.  
  
“Kara,” she groaned, rubbing her forehead in frustration, “you’re not listening. I—”  
  
“Oh, I’m listening !” she blew up, anger finally taking completely over and forgetting her sadness for a moment. “I’ve been listening since you told you me lied to me for years, but I’m done ! You did what you wanted behind my back, I can also do what I want !” As she talked, she slowly stepped closer to Alex who was stepping backwards in response and had now her back against the door.  
  
Alex didn’t know how to react to this angry Kara and kept her mouth shut during her rant, slowly backing away as Kara closed the distance between them.  
Even if she didn’t know the full extent of her love for Kara, she did know that distance was primordial if she wanted to keep a clear head to think. Her feelings changed or grew and she wasn’t ready to think about that. Certainly not now.  
  
“Calm down,” she warned, putting a hand on Kara’s chest a little above the crest. “Let’s just— take a breath,” she recommended. Seeing Kara’s expression she quickly added, “both of us.”  
  
They just stared at each other, Kara’s chest heaving and breaths swallow and fast and face flushed. After a tense moment, anger seemed to leave Kara’s body in an instant and her shoulders slumped, the sadness taking its place.  
  
“I’m just— I don’t know why you— why now ? You never had a problem with— with this,” she whispered while gesturing the small distance between them, “before. Did you ?”  
  
The question was so quiet that Alex almost missed it and she had to slightly hit her head against the door behind her to stop herself from reaching out.  
When she looked back at Kara, she was met with wide, sad eyes, the glistening caused by the unshed tears bringing out the blue of her eyes. And suddenly Alex was struggling to form a sentence.  
  
“I— I’m…”  
  
Kara dropped her head in resignation and took a step back while taking a deep breath, preparing herself to say what she knew she had to say.  
  
“So it’s recent.” She felt dizzy, knowing what it must mean. “Did you— I mean, have you noticed…” She chanced a glance at Alex who was patiently waiting for Kara to voice out her worries. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I know it’s not appropriate.” She was wriggling her fingers around the too long cape, hearing a scratching sound as it teared between her hands as she forgot her strength.  
  
Now Alex was confused. Not appropriate ? If anything, she was the one who—  
  
“What—”  
  
“I swear I didn’t think anything or— or— want to—” She rambled while shaking her head furiously with her hands up, like she was trying to surrender and at the same time trying to prove she was innocent. “It’s just those feelings, I don’t know what to do with them, but— but I can— I’m trying not to feel it, believe me !” she pleaded, hot tears running down her rosy cheeks.  
  
“Kara…” Frowning, Alex tried to reach out to her sister that seemed overwhelmed by feelings she didn’t quite understand but Kara only stepped back again, the back of her knees now against the bed.  
  
“No, you don’t have to comfort me Alex, you don’t have to— to pretend that you’re okay with this. I’ll just— I’ll go back to like I was before, I just need a little time, I’m sorry.” She was close to hyperventilating and Alex still wasn’t following. Was she still mad about Alex hiding working for the DEO ? “I didn’t even know what I was feeling,” she let out in a watery chuckle like she couldn’t believe it. “But now I know and… I don’t know how to— I don’t know what to do— I—”  
  
A sob broke through and her knees buckled. She sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands, elbows on her knees.  
Alex watched as Kara’s shoulders shook with each sob and closed the distance between them, kneeling in front of her as Kara did earlier for her. She gently took Kara’s wrists in hers, a soft pressure to make her feel her presence without pressuring her to move.  
  
“Kara, it’s okay, it’s okay,” she whispered while having no clue what her mental breakdown was about. Kara’s reply was to shake her head, disagreeing with Alex’s reassurance. “Yes Kara, whatever it is it’s okay.”  
  
“If it was, then you wouldn’t be trying to get rid of me !” she snapped while raising her head to look at her. “I know I shouldn’t be feeling this, I shouldn’t lo—”, a sob slowed her down but she kept going, “love you this way, but I didn’t ask for it, I just want things to go back as they were !”  
  
She felt her hands falter, feeling numb at what Kara was implying. Surely she was imagining things, fantasizing about what she would like to happen. “What are you talking about ?”  
  
Kara looked so vulnerable then, looking like she was about the be thrown out of the family or something along those lines. “You’re trying to get rid of me cause I love you too— too much,” she whispered sadly, sniffing as the tears became too much.  
  
“Kara, what are you saying ?” She felt her heart trying to get out of her chest, beating wildly and painfully with anxiety.  
  
Kara sniffed again and really looked at Alex, analyzing her expression and body language. She didn’t seem repelled but scared, like she didn’t know what Kara was talking about. “You don’t know, do you ?” she slowly asked, brows furrowed as she understood.  
  
Alex shook her head a little, her wide eyes staring right into blue ones. “No,” she murmured.  
  
Sighing, Kara let herself slump backwards into the bed and covered her eyes with her arm while she felt herself blushing. She basically outed herself to Alex because she thought her sister actually realized Kara’s feelings went way farther than simply familial love. She really fudged up.  
  
After hesitating for a moment, Alex joined Kara and lay down next to her so they could be on the same level. She felt like that conversation was important and she wanted to be here for Kara as her family, not as someone she wanted to protect or an agent. They were on an equal footing like they’ve been all of their life, super-powers or not, and she wanted to keep it that way.  
  
“I feel so stupid,” Kara mumbled, face still partially hidden by her arm, only her mouth visible to Alex.  
  
Alex took Kara’s hand in hers, trying to convey her support through touch as they always have. “Tell me,” Alex murmured back, not wanting to disturb the silence.  
  
She realized they didn’t hear the man’s cries anymore, and silently thanked Vasquez and Winn for their help and support. Thank god they were here.  
  
Kara bit her lower lip to stop it from quivering and gulped loudly, making Alex more anxious by the second. Was what Kara going to tell her that terrible ? They always told each other everything, what changed ?  
  
After letting out a watery breath, she whispered “I love you.”  
  
Alex squeezed Kara’s hand. “I love you too,” she confidently stated, even if she most likely meant it more than Kara did.  
  
Kara’s chest hurt as her heart was beating like crazy and she was getting frustrating by her own failure to express what she was feeling clearly. She wasn’t 12 anymore !  
She took her hand back from Alex’s and put the palms of her hands against her eyes, too scared to look at Alex or touching her when she said it.  
  
Either from the absence of warmth on her hand or the action of backing away from her, Alex felt herself shiver.  
She lay on her side to face Kara. Even if she didn’t want to touch or see her while talking, Alex wanted to.  
  
“I mean… I love you more than you love me.” She knew it wasn’t exactly clear, but a girl could dream.  
  
The bed slightly shook as Alex scoffed and she brushed the back of her fingers along Kara’s shoulder soothingly. “Come on, be serious. We had this conversation a million times and we agreed we loved each other equally to stop having this argument every day.” She knew her voice was slightly trembling but she couldn’t stop the hope bubbling through her.  
  
“No, Alex,” the blonde groaned, “this is serious. I’m trying to tell you something here. I’m trying to tell you that— that I think that I’m— I’m…”  
  
“You’re what, Kara ? What is it ?”  
  
“I think I might be in love with you !” she let out in a frustrated tone, dropping her hands from her face and angrily faced Alex.  
  
There was a moment of silence in which Alex just stared dumbly at Kara, and Kara was scowling at her, chest heaving because of the anger she used to get her feelings out.  
  
Then, as her words registered, Kara felt herself flush bright red and could swear she felt herself quite literally burning from embarrassment.  
And the air seemed to leave Alex’ lungs for, well, ever. In love ? In love ? How was this possible ?  
  
“What ?” she squeaked, thinking for a second that this sound was really unlike herself. But then again, maybe it wasn’t and she was just her real self only with Kara.  
  
Kara first sat up straight as an arrow, then mechanically stood up, opened the door and ran away from Alex after dropping a huge bomb on her. Kara actually ran _away._ _What the FUCK_ , Alex thought as she ran after Kara, only two step after her.  
  
As they suddenly barged in the living room, Vasquez and Winn looked up from where they were squatting next to the shooter and stopped talking. The man, still laying on the ground with his leg bandaged and an ice pack on the knee, looked up too with rage written all over his very red face, jaw clenched to stop himself from crying out loud. “You !” he growled through gritted teeth.  
  
But Kara was only distracted by the scene they walked in on for a second before Alex’s voice rang out behind her. “Kara, you can’t leave after saying—” She stopped short when she saw everybody staring at them, and Kara turned around in panic, facing Alex.  
  
Vasquez and Winn exchanged a curious look but said nothing, wondering what happened in that room. The man was still panting on the ground, most likely having been threatened to keep quiet since they left the room earlier, and was glaring daggers at Alex.  
  
“Alex,” Kara chuckled nervously with her hands up in a placating gesture, “let’s just forget about it, okay ?”  
  
“Um, what’s happening ?” Winn timidly asked, looking back and forth between Kara and Alex.  
  
“Nothing,” both women said at the same time, Kara in a high-pitched voice and Alex in a low and threatening tone, making it clear to Winn to stop meddling.

Kara was staring at Alex with wide eyes, face flushed and heart going crazy in her chest and she felt like she was out of breath. She was frozen, muscles taut and she was gripping the cape in her clenched fists which were outstretched alongside her body. Alex looked understanding but reserved, this guarded look in her eyes that indicated her confusion about Kara’s confession.  
Kara understood, it must have come out of nowhere for her foster sister. Heck, it came out of nowhere for _her._  
  
“Come on,” Alex said while holding her hand out for Kara to take, “let’s go back to the bedroom.” It was clear that her small smile was strained, the tension radiating from her body as she tried to keep her outstretched hand from shaking.  
  
Kara teared the cape in half this time at what Alex suggested, the sentence and the tone making her stomach do funny things inside. Alex frowned minutely, the confusion and frustration obvious to Kara from her body language.  
  
“My cape !” Winn gasped out loud, hand over his mouth at the shock. Vasquez violently elbowed him, causing him to scowl at her while rubbing the offended spot after yelping at the assault.  
  
The foster sisters ignored him as Kara hesitantly took a step towards Alex, fear and doubt slowing her steps.  
  
“Hey !” the man in pain shouted, causing everybody to startle and Kara to halt in the middle of a step. “We’re not done, you bitch !” he spat, looking directly at Alex.

She looked irritated but only because he interrupted her attempt at getting Kara to go back into the bedroom to talk. She didn’t care about what he was saying, she heard worse when interrogating aliens at the DEO. But Kara hasn’t.  
  
The blonde slowly  turned around, facing him and looking down on him. “You better stop talking,” she warned.  
  
He hit the floor with his fist, face trembling with anger. “You’re gonna be sorry for what you did to me !” he pointed at Alex, the threat as ridiculous as it could be. He was injured, laying on his back and surrounded by agents and a powerful alien; he had no chance.

“If you think I won’t break your other leg if you don’t stop talking, you’re strongly mistaken,” Kara bit back, still looking dangerously threatening even in her ridiculous outfit. She approached him deliberately slowly and, still as slowly, put her feet above his other knee. “Look around you. Are you in any position to make any kind of threat right now ?”

She sounded poised and calm but she wasn’t anything but. She was fuming inside, outraged that the man who almost killed Alex dared calling her names for breaking his knee a little.  
He snapped his mouth shut, resigned, but kept glaring at Alex behind Kara. The blonde pushed on his knee a little in warning, causing the man to hiss at the slight pain as he looked up to see Kara looming dangerously over him.

“Hey buddy, eyes up here,” she gestured with two fingers to her own eyes, threat loud and clear that he should just leave Alex alone.

She heard his teeth grind, the sound doing nothing to stop the endless irritation she felt for the pathetic man. Taking a deep breath to calm her anger, she slowly let it out then smiled sweetly at him with a tilt of her head in an innocent gesture and removed her feet. She turned on her heels only to see everybody staring at her.

Winn was doing a good impression of someone someone having a stroke, looking like he wanted to jump in excitement because he just saw his _Alien_ best friend threaten someone and throw up because he just saw his _Alien_ best friend dangerously threaten to break someone’s knee.  
Vasquez was hiding her expression behind a blank mask but she was staring too, so obviously she was surprised by Kara’s behavior.  
And finally, Alex. Alex who was looking at her with a mix of pride and confusion. As an agent, she could really admire Kara’s skills of threatening and tying someone up as someone who has never done it before. And as a sister, she was confused because she’s never seen Kara so angry. Well, she has, but not towards someone, her anger always has been against the universe or herself. Never someone else. And of course, the confusion was also from Kara’s earlier confession.

She felt warmth spreading through her cheeks at Alex’s expression, ducking her head and staring at her shoes instead. “What ?” she mumbled shyly. When nobody answered, she looked up again but tilted her head as she heard a sound coming from the staircase. “Someone’s coming !” she gasped, and before she could move, the door opened and a bright light blinded everyone in the room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ! I rewrote like three times a scene I put at the end only to realize I couldn't write it as I wanted cause it didn't fit in the chapter ! So I cut it (with a piece of my heart with it).
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, you can tell me about your thoughts in the comments  
> I also recently reconnected with my old friend Tumblr (Clarapuce13) if you want to message me or something
> 
> Thank you for reading and staying with me through my kinda-awful writing and my bad time managing skills :)


	21. Always together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As usual, I do apologize for the late update, but I worked quite hard on this one. It's actually the first chapter where I planned on what was going to happen _before_ writing it, it was life changing ! Being organized has its perks after all, who knew...
> 
> Anyway ! I really hope you're going to enjoy this one, leave your thoughts in the comments !
> 
> EDIT : Changed a paragraph in the end because Kara _hasn't_ been kidnapped by Lillian in my story and I made the mistake to confuse the show (which I've been thinking a lot about these last few days, especially last night and I finished the chapter and updated it) and my story hehe, sorry

Alex groaned as she woke up, a searing pain shooting through her head making her wish she’d pass out again, and looked around as her first thought was _Kara._ Everything was black though and she couldn’t see past her own nose, so she tried to pat the floor quietly, careful of not being discovered or heard by whoever attacked them.

 

* * *

 

Both Winn and Vasquez woke up at the same time, clutching their eyes shut at the pain they felt, the throbbing making it hard to focus. Winn was the first to break the silence, the darkness worrying him.

“Kara ?” he whispered, worried.

There was some rustling to his right and he tensed until a voice answered him. “Mr. Schott ?”

He frowned, not instantly recognizing the voice but the politeness familiar. “Vasquez ?” he uncertainly asked.

At the same time a hand gripped his arm, he heard a quiet “I’m right here,” just next to his ear, making him yelp and jump at the sudden presence.

“Geez,” he rasped out a beat later, hand on his heart, “give a guy some warning, would you ?”

Vasquez’ hand hesitantly moved and he almost gasped at the disappearance until he felt it again on his shoulder, a reassuring squeeze relaxing him a little. “I’m sorry Mr. Schott.” Her voice sounded distracted and he tensed up again, knowing she was looking for danger.

“What happened ?”

There was a few seconds of continued silence, the warm hand never leaving his shoulder keeping him grounded and safe, before Vasquez spoke again. “I’m not sure. We should get up, try to find out where we are.”

He felt his heart stutter at her words. Trying to find out where they were ? “We’re at my apartment, where else would we be ?”

Her grip turned almost painful and it was answer enough. “Let’s find out,” she eventually said, trying to sound confident even though she had no idea where the agent she was supposed to protect was.

“Well, it’s gonna be easy,” he mumbled absentmindedly as he moved on auto-pilot to turn the light on.

Vasquez, feeling him move under her hand, yanked him back to stop him from revealing themselves to whoever might be there with them but was too late and the darkness disappeared. She hissed under the sudden brightness and put the man behind her to protect him if necessary.  
She blinked in surprise, slowly releasing his shoulder and letting her raised fist slump against her leg as she straightened up from her defensive stance. She looked around, her gaze dropping to the carpet they were standing on.

She noticed it when they first arrived at Schott’s because it was a nice touch at the doorway, but now it was covered in dirty mud and blood and was missing two persons. “Where are the Danvers ?” she mumbled to herself, hand already in her pocket to grab her phone.

 

* * *

 

The ground was cold and rough under her hands and she could feel and smell the humidity, telling her she was long gone from Winn’s apartment. She sniffed, trying to guess what was the smell that was lightly covered by the humidity but froze when she heard something move to her left, holding her breath to be as invisible as possible.

The noise of clothes against the ground stopped and quickly followed by a lighter one, almost gently echoing in the darkness, like something touching steel or metal. “Alex ?”

The hopeful voice caused Alex to release the breath she’s been holding, tension and worry leaving her body with it and she rushed toward the voice. “Kara ? Kara, are you okay ?”

“I’m okay Alex, but—”

She hurried to her feet to join Kara, not even thinking that her foster sister not already by her side was odd, and would have knocked her head against metal bars if she hadn’t been moving with her arms stretched out before her.  
She gently padded the bars, her hands going from side to side then up and down to get a sense of what she was dealing with.

“Kara ?” she called out again, more hesitantly this time because the silence and the unknown was beginning to scare her.

“I’m here.”

The voice coming from below made Alex frown and she immediately squatted, keeping her hands on the metal to keep her balance. “Kara, are you okay ? What’s happening ?”

There was some more noise coming from Kara’s side and Alex jumped when she felt cold skin on her hand holding a bar. “It’s me,” she blonde murmured, not daring to speak up.

Alex found Kara’s hand again and held it like a lifeline, squeezing hard to let her know she was right here with her but heard her hiss in… _pain ?_

“Are you hurt ?” she asked, holding her hand even tighter so Kara could feel it, but Kara slipped her hand away from Alex’s grip with something that sounded suspiciously like yelp of pain. “... Kara ? Did I just _hurt_ you ?” she carefully asked, both hands on the bars again and her forehead against it to be as close to Kara as possible.

There was a beat of silence, only broken by their breathing, until she heard the blonde sigh. “Maybe ?”

“Kara—”

She didn’t even have time to finish her warning that Kara was scrambling to answer. “Yes ? Yes ! Yes, you did.”

The brunette felt her heart beating so painfully in her chest, as if it was trying to get out and reach out to Kara’s, wanting desperately to be together again, and that made it hard for Alex to stay calm. “ _Why ?”_

Some anger filtered out of her tone and she instantly regretted it but still waited for Kara to answer, wanting to let her explain. Tell her what she knew.

“I don’t know…” Her voice was so small and trembling that Alex reached out between the bars until she felt the cold texture of her foster sister/Superman’s suit, trying to calm her through touch. She kept it light though, not holding the blonde’s arm tighter after she felt it flinch at the contact, and was rewarded by a cold hand covering hers. “I woke up some time ago, I’m not sure when, and it was already dark. I called out for you but you didn’t answer. I was so scared…” The voice quickly turned into a whisper, and as her breathing quickened, her tone became more breathless until finally she couldn’t speak anymore, clutching Alex’s hand to her lips with trembling hands. “I thought… I was alone in the dark, _again,_ and I didn’t know where you were and—” A sob rocked through her body, derailing the rest of her sentence into oblivion as she slumped against the bars.

“It’s okay, we’re together now,” Alex was quick to soothe Kara’s fear, cursing in her head as the bars kept them from fully hugging when the blonde needed it the most.

“Well, not really.”

The new, male voice cut into the silence as the light turned on and both women startled and closed their eyes at the sudden brightness. But they stayed alert as the sound of footsteps, belonging to this new threat, came closer until it stopped right in front of them.  
It was a man, standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest, smirking and he looking down on them. He looked confident, strong and calm, his shoulders relaxed and head tilted a little to the side as he examined them.

Not at all like how he looked when screaming at them, lying pitifully on the floor of Winn’s apartment while clutching at his broken leg.

 

* * *

 

A familiar ringtone was heard close to where she stood and she found the device near the entrance door along with another one. “They’ve been taken.”

“What ? How— How do you know ?”

Vasquez eyed the phones, fingers frozen over the buttons, hesitating. “Because they wouldn’t have left their phones, no matter what. So whoever took them aren’t on our side.”

“ _Shit,”_ Winn cursed while passing his hand through his hand and letting it rest on his face. “Oh, you— you can call the DEO, right ? To help us find them ?”

Eyes on her phone, she still didn’t dial the only one available phone number saved. “I don’t think so,” she finally said, lips pursed as she put her phone back in her pocket and picked up the ones on the floor. “I think we’ve been compromised,” she explained while going through the Danvers phones, in case the kidnappers left a message. “I don’t want to risk us too, we’re the only ones left.”

Winn stayed quiet for a while, trying to process this new information. His best friend has just been kidnapped after being shot at along with her sister and this agent he barely knew was their only hope. “How are you gonna find them ? We never got the guy’s name or his contact and he’s gone.”

The agent sighed and pinched the bridge on her nose, trying to think of a way to get out of this mess. “I don’t know… Agent Danvers should still have her tracker active but I don’t have the tools to track it and I can’t go to the DEO.” Vasquez bent down and started rolling up the rug, leaving the phones on it.

Winn, who had begun thinking of a way to track Alex, stopped and frowned. “What are you doing to my rug ?”

Lifting the rolled up carpet and leaning it against the front door, Vasquez didn’t miss a beat and went to the living room, gathering the used glasses on her way to take them back to the kitchen. “I’m cleaning up.” _Obviously._

“I can see that,” the man grumbled, following her into the kitchen, “but why ? We have to find them ! You said it, we’re the only ones left.”

Putting the glasses in the kitchen sink, the agent turned around to face Winn with a scary look. “We can’t do anything for now, we don’t have the means. And we have to clean up, I have a feeling they didn’t leave us here out of goodness of their hearts. We may be framed, and there’s blood on the rug, a bullet hole in your window and a completely broken one where Kara flew.” She walked past him, going back to the living room to put the couch back to its place, looking up when the task became easier and saw Winn help her.

“Okay. We’ll clean up, then we’ll think of how to find them. I might have an idea.” He straightened up, hands on his hips, with a smile on his face.

Vasquez nodded seriously and they made quick work of cleaning the whole place up, throwing the shard of glasses and the rug away before going to a cafe to Winn’s suggestion.

They sat in a corner booth, away from prying eyes and wandering ears, and Vasquez put her coffee down after taking a sip. “What now ? You said you had an idea, I’m listening.”

Winn leaned down to take his computer out of his bag and put it on the table, side-eyeing the agent with what could only be described as a scary smirk. It was the first time she saw him look confident and she guessed it had to do with his computer skills.

  


“Get it ? ‘Cause you’re not in the same cell so you’re not _technically_ together.”

The man dared to _chuckle,_ like they were just old friends catching up, looking like he was as relaxed as he could be while they were on the floor covered in dust and dirt.

Alex turned to Kara on instinct and gasped at the sight.

The blonde was looking _tired,_ something that never happened due to her alien biology, and she was bleeding from her head, shaking slightly. It looked as if she hadn’t slept in days and was in withdrawal somehow, and that was only after a few hours if Alex’s guts were right.  
They stripped them of their shoes she noticed, the ground growing colder by the minute as she felt more and more awake, and Kara was obviously cold, a sensation foreign to her. The pain wasn't really new after being thrown away by a bomb, but feeling the temperature wasn’t something she ever experienced.

“Kara !” Alex thought she was going to shout, though involuntary, but her voice came out as a raspy whisper, the image of her weakened foster sister too hard on her in that moment.

“Ah, yes. We had to… _mobilize_ her for a while, just the time to get you here. Not to worry, she’ll heal.”

Alex stopped looking at her sister just the time to glare at the man before going back to her, reaching through the bars again to take her head in her hands, turning it side to side to evaluate the damage.

“You shouldn’t have been able to do that without…” She trailed off, brows furrowing as she realized what it meant. She clenched her jaw and pursed her lips to stop herself from lashing out, it was the last thing they needed right now as she didn’t know how he’d react. _Compartmentalize,_ she thought, _compartmentalize._

“I’m fine,” Kara mumbled weakly, her smile small but reassuring nonetheless. “I’ve had worse.”

She hadn’t. “Stop moving,” gently ordered Alex, her M.D coming forth to take care of what she could. “The blood’s dried and the wound doesn’t seem deep, you should heal quickly.”

She stroke her cheek as she pulled back a little to let her breathe and she frowned, thinking about what she just said. Kara _should_ heal, so why wasn’t she ?

“She _will_ heal,” the blonde man chimed in with a smile that made her want to vomit right on his face, “but it might take more time than she’s used to.” His smile turned sick and he walked back to the door he came in from, all the while keeping his eyes on the women, and flipped another switch, causing hidden lamps to emit a low orange light.

After a moment, Kara shuddered and whimpered, eyes shooting to the ceiling with wide eyes. Alex followed her gaze and saw…. “Are those—”

As if the man was always waiting for her to talk to intervene, he spoke up again. “Yes, they are. Red sun lamps. I don’t believe you succeeded in replicating them though, right ? Or Miss Danvers here wouldn’t be this... shaken,” he politely described the blonde while gesturing to her, her mind clearly solely focused on the sensations these new lamps made her feel.

“Are you okay ?” Alex whispered, hand sliding down from the blonde’s shoulder to her hands, holding them in hers and finally noticing how cold they were. That was Kara’s temperature without her powers and the difference was jarring.

Kara kept staring at the lamps then looked down at their joined hands, slowly feeling Alex’s in hers, really feeling it for the first time. “Yeah,” she whispered back as she looked at Alex with teary eyes.

“Okay !” the man almost shouted as he clapped his hands once, the sound echoing loudly through the room and both sisters flinched at the interruption. “I’ll let you get settled. Light on or off ?” He didn’t wait for any response from them and shrugged before making a _meh_ gesture with his hand. “I’ll let it on so you can get acquainted with the place. Enjoy !” he called out over his shoulder as he made his way out, gently closing the door behind him and a locking sound resonated.

There was a moment of silence, both sisters processing the… _thing_ that just happened, before Alex turned back toward Kara, still staring into nothing.

“Hey,” Alex murmured, trying to keep her voice soft as to not startle Kara. “How are you feeling ?”

The blonde blinked, coming back to the present, and turned to face Alex with a smile. “I’m okay. Still getting used to this whole _feeling like a human_ thing.” At Alex’s pointed look she rolled her eyes with an amused look. “Head hurts a bit but nothing bad. I promise.”

Alex squinted at Kara, making sure she wasn’t lying, and reluctantly nodded when she was sure she wasn’t. “Okay. Just— Rest a little.”

The agent got on her feet, using the bars to stay stable as she felt a little woozy when getting up, and looked around.  
It was a rather big room, as were their cells, and approximately 30 feet separated the edge of their cages from the only door. Everything felt cold, the only warm thing being the red sun lamps hanging from the  — very high — ceiling, and was rusty and dirty. Her black clothes were almost all white now due to the dust and the bars were almost orange from rust.  
Except Kara’s, which were all grey and shiny, as if new. Which was odd.

Alex frowned and got closer, brushing the metal before looking down at Kara who was leaning on it with eyes closed, most likely feeling drained from all the events. She couldn’t believe they had to explain Kara’s past to Winn, got shot at and got kidnapped in just one day.  
Then, watching as Kara shivered a little, a thought came to her.

“Nth metal.”

The alien looked up and looked questioningly at Alex. “What ?”

Sighing, frustrated that there was nothing she could use or analyze in the room to help them, she sat back down next to Kara and took her hand. “The bars from your cell and separating them are made from Nth metal, which you can’t bend or break. That’s why they look so new as opposed to everything in this place. A safety net I guess, in case the lamps stop working or if…” She shook her head, trying to get the Kryptonite they most likely used on her to knock her out and bring them here out of her mind, and forced a strained smile. “It doesn’t matter.” It did. “You’re powerless here either way, and I can’t see anything to help us escape. There’s not even a lock on our cells…”

Kara put her head against the bars and Alex mimicked her, a part of their forehead touching each other’s, and just focused on breathing. The questions and possible answers would come after.

 

* * *

 

“You can do _that_?”

The tone was so surprised that Winn had to take it personally and glared at the culprit. “I happen to be quite smart,” he retorted defensively, eyes glued to his computer screen, typing furiously.

“Oh, no—” Vasquez’ eyebrows shot up in surprise and her eyes went back to his face. “I just meant— Not many people could without the needed hardware we have at the—” She looked around, making sure no one was listening in, before finishing her sentence “— base.”

He smiled a little then, briefly glancing at the agent before getting back to work. “I just need a few information and we should be good to go. Of course, I’d go a lot faster with your fabulous machines.” Vasquez shot him a disbelieving look, and he quickly caught on. “That I guess you might have, not that I _know,_ how would I, I didn’t know you even existed,” he chuckled nervously, trying not to think about the few minutes in the kitchen when everybody was in the living room, where he spent a few moments checking if their DEO story was true. And indeed it was, along with the discovery of some sweet system and hardwares he only dreamt of. “ _Anyway…_ I should be able to track Alex’s tracker’s wavelengths but I’m not gonna lie, it’s going to take time.” He stopped writing before looking up to the agent to his left, staring into her eyes. “Do they ? Have time, I mean. Shouldn’t we call—”

“No, it would put us at risk,” she quickly cut him off, hand raised. “It will take the time it will take, but I’d appreciate if you worked as quickly as possible.”

Immediately going back to typing, he nodded, already focused on his task. “I’ll do my absolute best,” he promised, and the woman didn’t have an ounce of doubt. “Just write down those informations we talked about and I’ll be good to go.”

 _I just hope we’ll be on time,_ he sombrely thought.

 

* * *

 

Alex had more time to analyze the place but, again, found nothing of help. After a good thirty minutes of investigating, she finally gave up and sat down next to Kara to be near her. Kara eyed Alex with a suspicious look, knees to her chest and cheek resting on top.

“If you’re going to ask me how I’m feeling, please don’t.”

Kara’s weary voice stopped Alex, obviously on her way to ask her this very question, and she scowled. “You can’t blame me for asking.”

The blonde closed her eyes and leaned her head against their joined bars. “I can if it’s every five minutes.”

She had to admit Kara had a point, so Alex just sighed. “Yeah… I’ll just get used to seeing you bleed and have shadows under your eyes then.”

Kara opened her eyes to glare at her foster sister, any awkwardness from her confession was long forgotten given the situation they were in. “I do _not_ have—”

“You do.”  She did, not much but enough to be noticeable and enough to be teased about it. _Finally._ What good was to be locked up if she couldn’t take advantage of it to make fun of her little sister ? “You can really see it, especially there,” she gently brushed her thumb below Kara’s eye to add to her teasing but she felt the tension returning when the blonde blushed.

The Kryptonian pushed Alex’s hand away while turning her head away, her chuckle awkward and unnatural, reminding the agent of Kara’s truth bomb when she finally forgot about it. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, I look like a zombie.”

Alex could see Kara’s red cheeks from here, even though the blonde had her head turned thanks to the bright lights, and waited for her to not be flustered anymore. It wasn’t the time to address the issue. So, instead, she diverted Kara’s attention. “Kinda. Especially the suit, I’m sure you’re glad to have put it on now that you can’t change.” Kara’s glare softened at the sight of Alex’s grin and she finally relented, even if her good mood didn’t last. “What is it ?” Seeing Kara’s smile slip away was the last thing she wanted to see and she took her hand again.

The silence lasted for a long moment, Kara keeping her eyes on their clasped hands, until she let out a shuddering sigh. “I’m just scared,” she eventually admitted in a whisper, the silence finally good for something as Alex barely caught Kara’s words. She squeezed her hand in silent support, knowing the blonde wasn’t finished. “I mean, who are they ? What do they want ? And where are Winn and Vasquez, are they okay ?”

“Kara—”

“And I don’t have my powers !” she went on, not even hearing Alex’s attempt at calming her down. “Not only that, but I can _feel_ and it’s so _weird_ Alex !”

“Kara !” She squeezed a little more, just enough for Kara to feel the pressure, and the blonde snapped her head toward her with wild eyes. “Just breathe,” she gently instructed. “Slowly.” Kara squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to breathe normally again, letting the air in and slowly letting it out. And again, until it worked and Alex whispered “Good,” in her relieved voice.

The silence was back, only broken by Kara’s shuddery breaths and Alex’s calm ones, always the rock in their relationship. Eventually, Kara sighed loudly, letting herself slump on her back on the ground, the dust flying away in a poof.

“I’m tired of being this… _weak._ Can’t I be the strong one for once ?” Her smirk was teasing but her tone was concerned, her worries real.

“Says the woman who saved a plane full of people, including me, for the first time only a few days ago.” Alex shook her head, fondness in her gaze. “You’re strong Kara, you just didn’t have the chance to prove it. You’re the strongest person I know, and _no,”_ she pointedly said with a raised eyebrow, “I’m not just saying that. I mean it.”

Kara’s eyes held so much love that Alex felt her breath catch and was glad, in this moment, that Kara didn’t have her super-hearing. “Thanks, Al,” she murmured with a beaming smile, her hand searching for Alex’s.

Uncomfortable now, never knowing how to take compliments or anything resembling it, Alex shrugged and looked away to recompose herself. “What else am I here for ?”

Kara’s kind smile turned smirky and her eyes glinted. “To keep me company so I don’t get bored,” she said, the word _obviously_ unsaid but understood.

Huffing and letting herself fall on her back too, Alex rolled her eyes and turned her face toward Kara, her hand still in hers. “Of course. How would you like to be entertained, my Liege ?”

The alien downright _giggled,_ rolling on her side to fully face Alex and the brunette followed her move, removing her hand from Kara’s before reaching again in the middle. Kara sighed and looked Alex in the eyes.

“What do they want, Alex ? Why are we here ? Why _us_?”

Her eyebrows pinching in worry and heart clenching in sadness, Alex reached out to stoke the blonde’s cheek and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know,” she murmured apologetically. “I don’t know. But we’re gonna be okay, you’ll see. J’onn is gonna find us when he finds the mole and we’ll get out of here.”

The smile returned faintly on Kara’s face and she nodded, putting her hand over Alex’s and enjoying, for the first time, her body warmth now that she could feel it. “We’re going to be okay,” she agreed with a nod, hope and love keeping her from falling apart. Alex was there, and with her she felt like she could do anything, survive anything. She held onto that faith.

 

* * *

 

“I’m done.”

“What ?”

His smile broadened and he nodded enthusiastically. “I’m done. All we can do is wait now.”

Winn gnawed on his lower lip, his calm gone. When he was coding, he was doing something; helping. Now that this part was over, his stress came back and his worries with it. His leg wouldn’t stop bouncing up and down as he reread his entire code meticulously, focused on not missing one mistake that could make all of this useless.

“You did well.” The words were accompanied by a hand on his knee, stopping its movement, and a encouraging smile.

He slowly nodded, closing his computer while letting it work on its own and put his hands flat on the table to avoid fidgeting. “What now ?” His voice was careful, afraid of hearing an answer he wouldn’t like, something like “ _we can’t do anything more.”_

“Now, we prepare,” she replied with a confidant smile.

 

* * *

 

An infinity later, where nights looked like days with bright artificial lights and the taste of food or water was forgotten, the door finally opened. It felt like a trick, a mirage, but the change of air couldn’t be imagined and both women tensed, only getting as far as sitting when standing up was obviously too much of a strain for their bodies in dire need of water and food.

The blonde man was back, with the same relaxed smile on his annoying face, and walked toward them without closing the door behind him.

Kara and Alex both asked themselves what changed in him. He wasn’t the enraged and cruel man they caught a few… days ago ? But they couldn’t figure out what happened. Maybe he was offered a large sum of money for his trouble and he let go of his resentment towards them. That was the best theory they had.  
They also thought that he wasn’t the boss of wherever they were, someone was controlling him. Most likely the person who asked him to kill Alex.

And for the life of them, they couldn’t guess why they hadn’t kill Alex by now. She was such an easy target, they could just shot her in her cage and Kara wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.  
The thought that scared Kara the most, was that it probably meant they had a use for Alex, and that never boded well for anyone.

Just as they thought the man was going to talk, another voice was heard behind him, hidden by his quite large figure. A _feminine_ and _familiar_ voice. That was worrying.

“Thank you, Alexander. You can stay if you wish.”

The voice sent shivers down the girls’ spines and they looked at each other, eyes wide with fear. The woman walked around _Alexander_ and their fear became real; too real.

 _“Lillian.”_ The name was almost spat, and most likely would have been if Alex still had any saliva left.

Kara recoiled, the sight of this unknown woman oddly scary. Mustering all the anger she could to overcome her cowardice, Kara squared her shoulders and put as much steel in her eyes as she could. “I should have known it was Cadmus.”

During their time at the DEO, Alex mentioned once or twice this evil agency, working in the shadows against aliens but with the government’s authorization. Alex went at lengths on how it was illegal but had the President’s permission, an angry scowl on her face.   
The brunette talked about Lillian Luthor, warning Kara to never go near the evil woman if she didn’t want to hurt  _ badly. _

“Oh,” Lillian chuckled, the humorless laugh she always was the only one to perfect. “We’re not Cadmus. I don’t work with the military anymore, they’re slow and too… _restrictive._ Bureaucracy and all that,” she gestured with her hand like they knew what she was talking about. “No, we are way less supervised here.”

And, as the only one Alex knew who could do that, she put her most scary and creepy smirk on, standing tall as if it was something to be proud of.  
Next to her, Alexander — Alex was still bitter they shared a name — smiled, although somehow kindly, and took a step forward, bending a little to get closer to them.

“I did warn you I had friends in high places.”

It felt like a punch in the gut, the contrast between his behavior and his words so cutting that both sisters went pale. The reality dawned on them. They were trapped, surrounded by murderers, hit men and who knew what else.

As if trying to prove that this reality was their new life, that they weren’t imagining it, Lillian turned her head to Alexander. “Take her,” she vaguely pointed to Kara with her hand, not even bothering looking at her. “We’ll begin our experiments now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know... I know. I won't say I'm sorry but it _will_ have a happy ending, I promise !  
>  But you do have the choice to yell at me or throw things at me... Please don't.
> 
> Tumblr : Clarapuce13


	22. Back from the dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst turned slightly up, be warned.
> 
> Mentions of torture/experiments, nothing too detailed or too violent.

Kara’s cell slowly opened, the  _ Nth  _ metal gate soundlessly rising up and the Danvers understood why there wasn’t a lock anywhere, letting her vulnerable to Lillian and Alexander.

The blonde recoiled, back to the opposite side of the cell in fear while the brunette launched against the bars separating them with force with anger. “Don’t touch her !” she yelled, arms flailing towards a trembling Kara, trying to protect her even with the distance between them. “Kara !”

Alexander had approached her to Lillian’s command, and was now a few inches away from her with a kind expression. “I don’t want to hurt you.” It sounded almost believable if it wasn’t for the imminent torture. “Come on.” He held out his hand, waiting for Kara to take it, only to watch her try to merge with the bars as she pulled back even more in an attempt to disappear.

“Leave her alone !” Alex spat, still trying to reach him with her too-short arms.

Still as relaxed as ever, he slowly turned his head to face Alex with an emotionless expression. “I advise you not to make this more difficult than it has to be.”

And he started walking toward the blonde again, gripping her arm gently but fingers strongly locked around it, and pulled her with him.

“Kara !” Alex screamed again, the woman seeing red as she watched the most important person in her life being dragged away in front of her, unable to do anything. “Stop !” She grabbed the bars and used all of her strength to try and move them even slightly, letting out a yell of frustration when they didn’t even budge. 

Catching Alex’s crazed look as Alexander lead her toward the exit of her cell, Kara’s brain seemed to catch up to what was happening and shock left her body to leave room for anger and determination.   
She began struggling, trying to hammer her feet to the ground while bending her knees to add more weight, and drove her nails into Alexander’s hand.

Out of surprise, thinking the woman was too scared to do anything, he let go of her arm and she launched into him with force, wrapping her arms around his middle to try and throw him off balance. He grunted at the attack but quickly took a step back to stay upright and grabbed both of her arms, easily overpowering her weak attempt at catching him off guard and pinning him down.   
Still in the middle of the Kryptonian’s cell, he took her by her middle and was on his way to put her over his shoulder when the blonde reached out and took Alex’s extended hand, both gripping tightly as to not let go.

“Alex…” Kara whimpered in a tone of mixed pain and fear, knuckles turning white as she strained to keep Alex’s hand in hers as long as possible before the blonde man undoubtedly pulled her out of reach again.

Cheek painfully pushing against the stainless bars, Alex slowly felt Kara’s hand slip away from her grasp until she only felt cold air hitting her sweaty palm. “Kara ! Kara !” She couldn’t stop calling out her name, not knowing what was going to happen to the most precious person Earth had the honor of welcoming since its beginning, and her voice turned raw really fast.

“Alex !” The blonde called back, struggling against his large hands manhandling her over his shoulder while she tried to grab Alex’s cell bars from the exit’s side, fighting to gain a few seconds more in her foster sister’s presence. 

Alexander huffed, realizing Kara’s strength was still more than average even without her powers, and tried to pull her away from the cells without hurting her because it would misrepresent the experiments’ results. It was proving to be difficult taking the blonde alien without harming her because of her strength.

Lillian, who stood quietly by the door with her eyes glued to her phone the entire time, finally made herself heard when she loudly sighed, making the man tense.   
She slowly looked up, meeting scared blue eyes, and kept her gaze locked on Kara with an unimpressed expression.

“I’m going to make it really simple, Miss Danvers,” she calmly stated, looking relaxed but annoyed with the tantrum she just displayed. “If you,” she inclined her head a little in the blonde’s direction, “don’t stop struggling, we are going to make sure  _ she,”  _ she tilted her head toward Alex, “hurts even more.”

Alex, who was now on the corner of the joined cell to be as close to Kara as possible, scoffed loudly while Kara suddenly stopped moving while she processed Lillian’s words. “You don’t scare me,” the brunette dangerously growled before Kara had the time to speak up; warn her.

A shadow of a smirk appeared on Lillian’s face and her chin raised a little at the challenge. “Yet.”

_ “No,”  _ the blonde breathed out, seeing clearly what was going to happen as the  _ even more  _ uttered by Lillian echoed in her head. “Alex, step back !”

But the agent stood her ground, chin high and fists trembling with the intensity of her anger by her side, forehead ghosting the rusty bars from her cell. 

“Don’t worry,” came the cold woman’s cool voice. “We are just demonstrating how blackmail works.” She turned her head to catch Alexander’s eyes and nodded.

The muscular man nodded back and forcefully tossed Kara back in her cell, the resounding sound of her cell locking again as the gate lowered itself against the ground drowning her cry of pain as she rolled on the floor with the strength of his throw.   
Alex practically launched herself against the bars again, squatting to be as close as Kara as she could, and put her hand on the ground of Kara’s cell, feeling the dust gently floating around and beneath her fingertips.

“Kara, are you okay ?” she rushed to ask, eyes wild with worry as she focused on her foster sister’s well-being. 

The blonde grunted as she pushed herself off of the ground on her elbow and looked up at Alex with a scared look on her face. “Alex—” she started speaking but the rusty sound of old bars being moved echoed in the room and both women’s eyes found Alex’s side of her cell being opened. “No !” Kara almost whined as she watched Alexander purposefully enter Alex’s cage, his face betraying a hint of frustration.

The agent swiftly got up on her feet, fists raised and ready to fight with a determined expression.

The blonde man didn’t seem anxious at the thought of fighting again though, and a sly smirk slowly surfaced as he reached for something behind his back before pulling a long black stick. “I warned you,” he lowly said before pushing a button on the stick and a piercing buzzing sound was all they could hear.

Alex tensed and clenched her jaw, now more scared than she was a second ago, readying herself from what was certainly going to be a very painful defeat.

She avoided the first strike, the electricity of the stick making her hair on the back on her neck stand up, and tried to attack him with a right but got blocked and hit on her left side by a sidekick from the monster that shared her first name.   
She grunted as she held her left ribs, silently examining the damages and knowing a few cracks were the least of her concerns when he charged again and was cornered in her cell, quickly looking for blue eyes before feeling herself tense from intense pain as the electrified stick made contact with her stomach. 

She faintly heard her name being called out but couldn’t do anything but grit her teeth and scrunch her eyes shut while she tried to hold out a scream of her own, air all but stopping from coming in or out of her lungs as the violent aggression kept harming her.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain stopped and she could somewhat breathe again, hear and speak again. Without feeling it, her lifeless body crumbled to the ground in less than a second.

“Alex ! Alex, a— are you okay ?” 

It was the sobbing from the too familiar voice that made her force herself out of her daze and slowly open her eyes, blinking as the dark spots danced around her vision, until she finally spotted long, blonde hair and an outstretched hand near her own fisted one.   
She felt her heart going crazy in her chest, not improving her ribs’ pain a bit, and she was so dizzy she had to stay laying on the ground.

Fortunately, she was facing her favorite alien so she didn’t even have to move her head to look for her, and she painfully stretched her hand out until it touched the blonde’s, the latter gripping to it like a lifeline.    
Her thumb made circles on her still convulsing hand and her upper body shuddered in sync with her sobs, eyebrows knitted together in sadness and worry.

The brunette squeezed the blonde’s hand a little, as much as she could in her sorry state, and smiled a little. “I’m okay,” she murmured. She took a deep breath and tried to at least sit up but was immediately pushed against the ground again by her own weakness. “I will be,” she amanded when she saw concern dancing in Kara’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered sadly, the guilt pouring out of her mouth as words and out of her eyes as tears. “I’m so sorry.” She cried with her head against the bars, eyes shut and sniffing loudly as she kept Alex’s hand in both of hers.

They didn’t even hear Alex’s cell being closed, but Kara’s was suddenly open again and Alexander was standing tall next to the crying woman. “I think you know you shouldn’t fight anymore.”

A sob overcame her body at those words, knowing she had to wordlessly follow him to her death while leaving Alex behind her without the hope of ever seeing her again.   
She stayed like that for another beat then opened her eyes again to look at her beautiful human one last time, smiling through her tears to try and leave a good last impression on the brunette.

“I love you,” she whispered one last time before reluctantly letting her hand go, even having to pull it out forcefully as Alex grabbed harder.

“No, don’t ! Kara, I’ll be fine, just resist and— and punch to the throat, like I taught you !” She was desperate and she knew she wasn’t making it any easier on the blonde but she had to fight it; had to stay alive. They both didn’t held any hope that the experiments were going to be painless and weren’t going to result in the Kryptonian’s death, so it was unquestionably goodbye. The blonde shook her head with a resigned, watery smile before getting up, looking at Alex, laying on the ground while breathing with great difficulty, and turned her head. “No, Kara, please ! Please, no !”

Lillian sighed again and left the room without another word. Alexander stood behind Kara at first, making sure she wasn’t going to try and stay in her cell for some reason, and they neared the exit bothering to close her cage again.   
The alien cast a last glance toward Alex before disappearing around the corner, exiting the smelly and dirty room without any last word.

Alex was still struggling to sit up but couldn’t as her arms trembled too much to support any weight, so she settled on verbalizing her love instead of showing her anger. “I love you !” she shouted from the floor, tears running freely now as she was left alone in the dusty cage. “I love you so much, I’m sorry, I love you !”

At that moment, she thought she couldn’t feel any worse pain that this. Concussion ? Check. Broken fingers ? Check. Broken ribs ? Check. Broken heart ? Double check.

And so, not for the first time, she thanked her body for giving her exactly what she needed. Most of the time was one last burst of energy during a fight, a much needed capacity for holding in pee until she found toilets, or good vision to see through Kara’s flailing arms when she was trying to make her lose her focus when they played video games together. 

But now ? Her body gave her unconsciousness and she was thankful.

 

 

* * *

 

  
It has been a few days and J’onn was getting restless. He was doing his best to investigate but it took time and patience, time and patience he didn’t necessarily had.   
The last info he had from the sisters and the agent was that Kara’s apartment exploded with the same bomb that was used on the plane. 

Sighing, he decided to take a risk and call them to see how it was going now. A few days ago, Alex told him they were telling a friend of Kara’s everything so he could help her hide from her boss that Alex was suspicious of.

He dialed Alex’s temporary number and waited, sitting at his desk with the door closed. When the agent didn’t pick up, he tried Vasquez’ number; surely the bodyguard would be more on her guard.    
Still, as he waited, no one picked up again.    
Feeling worry creep up inside, he got up and paced his office as he dialed the last contact saved for this particular mission. Phone to his ear, he closed his eyes and he guessed the blonde wasn’t going to answer either as seconds went by.

So the two best of his agents and the most powerful alien on this planet were missing.

He passed his hand over his face and up to his head in frustration and,  _ okay,  _ a little bit of fear too. Pursing his lips, he took the decision he didn’t want to take and got ready to leave.

 

 

* * *

 

 

As she woke up, Alex instantly felt all of her new bruises keeping her down on the ground and she didn’t resist. What was the point ? She utterly failed and lost the only person in the world she honestly loved.

She kept fighting the unconsciousness, the dark world not enough anymore, and tried to use her rage and sadness as fuel to open her eyes and get up; or at least sit. She tried, tightening her abs, but had to stop as the pain in her ribs kept her from straining anymore.   
Her vision became watery as she resigned herself to a Kara-less life until she startled as she heard a sweeping sound coming from her left.

With herculean effort, she turned her head toward the noise and saw a blurry figure and guessed the sound came from their feet moving on the ground.   
The silhouette was sitting on a folding chair it seemed, and was leaning forward with their forearms on their knees. Alex could only make out short hair but nothing else as they were sitting.

She fought to stay awake but her unconscious begged her to stay with her and eventually won, feeling her eyelids slowly close against her will. Before the blackness engulfed all of her senses, she thought she heard something.

_ That’s what you get. _

 

 

* * *

 

 

Winn and Vasquez were back at his apartment, waiting as patiently as possible as Winn’s program ran its course to find Alex’s tracker.

The TV was on with  _ The Two Towers _ as Winn pretended to watch but really was too busy worrying about his best friend and her sister. Vasquez was sitting on the chair next to the couch, reading a thick book quietly, but still had her gun on. She went out to take care of some business but came back an hour later with more guns and ammo.

She put it all on Winn’s bed, everything organized and ready to use, and closed the door before joining him in the living room with her book. After a while, Winn’s anxious eyes rested on the agent and saw her pursing her lips while looking down and he frowned.

“Something’s wrong ?” he asked, wringing his fingers unconsciously.

Her head snapped back up and she forced a smile, shaking her head a little. “Nothing, I was just… lost in thoughts.”

He nodded uncertainly and tried to focus back on the movie but something in the back of his mind made him restless, fidgety; more than usual. Like he forgot something or overlooked a crucial information but he couldn’t put his finger on it for some reason.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When she woke up for the second time since Kara had been taken, Alex jumped and her body moved faster than her mind did as she sit up and grunted in pain. The noise that woke her up was the only door in the room being opened, the thick metal door loud in the dead silence, and she saw Lillian walk in followed by a rustling noise.

Distantly, she noticed the chair she saw the unknown figure sitting in disappeared and wondered for a second if that was just a dream. Or a nightmare.

The tall fearsome woman stepped aside to let Alexander enter the room, apparently dragging something as he walked backwards and huffed a little in exertion. The brunette could only see his back but she tensed and became alert, a tiny hope in her mind that Kara could be dragged back next to her. Alive.   
She knew it was silly, knew it was the desperation talking, but she couldn’t help but hope.

Her desire went down the drain as she saw white clothes, a distinct difference with Kara’s fake Superman suit, and she closed her eyes as a new tear fell on her cheek. The white cloth was not unlike the ones given to patients in hospital but a knock off version of it; rough, thick and rigid.   
She frowned, though, when Kara’s cell opened and the blonde man kept dragging the unconscious person inside. She straightened a little, against her body’s protests, to see better over the man’s shoulders, and gasped as she spotted long, blonde hair. Surely it was someone looking like her sister, the evil organization trying to mess with her head.

But as Alexander straightened up after letting the body unceremoniously fall on the floor, Alex distinctly recognized Kara’s features under the bright lights. She tried to get up but found it impossible, so she shamelessly crawled until her face reached the Nth’s cold surface and gripped the bars tightly, trying to keep a semblance of strength in front of their new friends who were undoubtedly watching her.

She kept staring at the motionless body in front of her, anxiously waiting until she heard footsteps drift away and the  _ clang  _ of the heavy door.

“Kara ?” It came out as a whimper, all the hope she was still trying to dampen fighting to get the better of Alex’s feelings. But she couldn’t let herself be relieved until she was sure the woman in front of her was indeed her sister. “Kara ?” she asked again, her voice a little stronger and clearer now.

The blonde moaned and Alex saw her face contort, as if she had a bad dream, and the agent was taken aback as it reminded her of Kara’s early days on Earth and her too frequent nightmares. She said something under her breath and Alex’s heart clenched  uneasily  in her chest, praying to whomever was listening that she heard her wrong.

But a few seconds later, the woman spoke again. “Stop. Don’t.” And confirmed that Alex heard her right the first time.

Desperate to end the restlessness of the now hyperventilating woman, the brunette reached through the bars and tried to grab what she could; a hand, clothes. What was within reach was hair her though, but she didn’t feel bad about slightly tugging it even it might hurt her a little. She needed to stop hearing Kara make those noises,  _ now,  _ or else she was going to kill someone for making her this afraid. 

When the blonde just kept stirring but kept dreaming, Alex pulled her hair a little harder in a harsh motion. “Kara !” she said a little more forcefully now, heart beating wildly in her chest and ears slightly ringing with anticipation.

The woman gasped as she abruptly woke up, sitting up and opening her eyes wide in one swift motion before trembling and sliding back against the bars backwards to Alex’s left, the farthest away from the exit as possible.   
Her eyes kept sweeping the room, never settling on a spot longer than a couple of seconds, and she looked like she was trying to become one with the bars. She kept clutching at her chest, visibly in pain, and the brunette clenched her jaw in fury.

Alex just kept silently watching her, her brain running as fast as it possibly could in her current situation, and tried not to startle her. After a long while, when it became clear that the blonde wasn’t going to calm down any time soon, Alex tried to catch her attention again.

“Kara ?” she softly whispered, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Still, the woman jumped at the sudden voice and fixed her horrified gaze on the brunette who just stayed silent. Alex tried to make her see she was no threat, slowly raising her palms up to show she was also defenseless, and waited for her to snap out of wherever her mind was currently lost.

Alex was unconsciously holding her breath and finally released it in a relieved sigh when the blonde whispered “Alex ?” in a watery tone, her lower lip quivering before falling head first to a full-on breakdown, resulting in her shaking even more and sobbing uncontrollably.

“Come here,” she murmured to her foster sister with grabby hands, trying to make her smile, or at least stop crying. It was heart-wrenching seeing her sister so scared and probably in shock from whatever happened. But she was  _ alive.  _ “Kara, come here.” 

“I can’t—” Kara shook her head, trying to communicate something. “ _ Hurts,”  _ she finally grunted, eyes pinched closed as she bent forward with her forehead against her knees and hands still gripping the new fabric hard against her chest.

Even if relieved her foster sister was alive, Alex could feel the desperation slowly coming back and dread making an apparition as she wondered what they’d done to the blonde to make her hurt this much. “Kara,” she pleaded, “I can’t help you if I can’t examine you.”

“No !” she gasped out, clearly trying to get past her pain just enough to convey her feelings. “No examination,” she whispered, side eyeing the agent to gauge her reaction.

“Okay,” Alex rushed to answer, palms up. “No examination. I just— let me take a look, see if you’re okay.” At the blonde’s hesitation, Alex stretched out her arm through the metal bars again, palm still up. “Please.”

Intently watching Alex’s eyes, Kara eventually gave her a small nod and began moving. It was obvious it pained her to do so as she shakily put one hand in front of the other to close the distance between her and her beloved Human. She was audibly wheezing and struggling to put weight on her arms but she found the strength to keep going until she collapsed on the floor, face against the bars.

“Alex—” she croaked, her hand now clutching Alex’s instead of her chest.

“You did great,” Alex breathed out, hand firmly squeezing Kara’s and the other pushing blonde strands of hair out of her tired eyes. “You can rest a bit now,” she whispered tenderly, but steeled herself for what she was about to see. 

The blonde was lying along the separation of their cells, facing Alex with closed eyes and tired breathing. The brunette kept stroking Kara’s hair in a soothing gesture, hoping to appease her through her comforting presence while trying to rein her rage in. It wouldn’t do the trembling blonde any good to see her foster sister shaking with anger and frustration. So she kept it to herself and channeled all of her love and care into her reassuring motion, her hand slow and gentle.

Still as slowly, with the hand that wasn’t in Kara’s, she began trying to explore what little she could in the limited space and restriction from the bars she had. Kara’s clothes changed for a reason, and she was determined to find out why.   
First, she pulled a little Kara’s hand to stretch her arm out, checking if there was any needle mark. She found none. She didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad one; the time she spent unconscious could have lasted five minutes as it could have lasted a day, and if it was closer to a day as she thought then she didn’t want to think about what they could have made Kara go through during that time.

Satisfied to see Kara’s pale skin untouched, she put her arm down and gave her hand a little squeeze before letting go so she could examine her more easily. Just as she relaxed her hand around Kara’s, the blonde tensed again and her eyes shot up open in alarm and her breathing, still as labored, doubled in rythme.   
Wide and watery eyes stared at her, the dread clear in the way her whole body started to shake once more, and her hand strongly clasped Alex’s.

Her protective side kicked-in and she immediately pulled the shaky hand to her lips and intensely gaze into fearful blue orbs. “I’m not leaving, Kar’. I’m right here, I’m not leaving,” she promised, hot breath hitting trembling knuckles as she rubbed the dread away with her thumb. “I’m sorry, I’ll keep holding your hand, okay ? I’m not leaving.”

She hoped that, if she said it enough, Kara would remember this and let it fight her fear away.

After a long moment of hesitation and deep breaths, Kara nodded and loosened her grip around the brunette’s hand just enough to become a warm presence, and not a painful pleading asking her to stay.   
The only sound was now Kara’s breath loudly reverberating in the cold and lonely room they were in.

Alex was becoming more and more worried. Kara didn’t have any injury around her neck or face, so her breathing problem was more concerning.   
With one final deep breath, she smiled in reassurance at the quivering alien and pulled the rough fabric down a little so she could examine Kara’s chest area. She pressed her face harder against the cold bars in hope to see better, but immediately regretted it as a loud gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it.

 

 

* * *

 

Slumping hard against the door as he let out a long sigh, Winn let himself slide down until he was tiredly sitting on the floor. “That was close.”

“Don’t worry,” Vasquez mumbled, pushing the curtain a little to watch the policemen leave their street. “There was nothing to find, I made sure of it.”

Letting his head fall onto his hands, elbows on his knees, he sighed again. “I can’t believe they freaking framed us,” he grumbled. “Thank god you were there.”

Satisfied that the cops definitely left, the agent turned to see Winn sitting on the floor where his carpet used to be. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it.”

This comment made him lift his head, his expression surprised but careful. “Used to it ?”

Her hesitation was brief and well-hidden, but Winn still saw it. “With the DEO. We clean houses and places where alien fights took place to keep the public in the dark.”

The explanation was logical and precise. Winn hummed his acknowledgment with a thoughtful expression and grunted as he got up. He looked around, his place pristine, and went to sit on the couch again.   
He leaned forward to see on his computer if they made any progress, but the program was still running and giving them no helpful information.

“It’s been  _ days,”  _ he complained, dread coming back full force after putting it aside in favor of appearing calm in front of the policemen. “I thought we’d have something by now. Are you sure we can’t contact the DEO ?”

Vasquez pursed her lips as she took her previous seat back on the armchair and faced Winn. “I told you why we can’t. We cannot let ourselves be vulnerable by contacting the agency they’re expecting us to contact. And you can’t give up hope, it’s normal for a computer like yours to take time. Just be patient, we’ll find them,” she reassured him confidently, her gaze serious and focused.

Rubbing his forehead in frustration, he looked at her pleadingly and asked his last hope. “And J’onn hasn’t contacted you either ? I know he was working on something else, shouldn’t he have some news by now ?”

Her stance relaxed but alert became rigid, a flash dancing in her eyes just long enough for Winn to notice it but not enough to identify it.  _ Worry, maybe ?  _

“No, he hasn’t. I’m sure as soon as he has something to share, he will.”

Defeated, Winn rolled on his side and laid on the couch, pouring what was left of his hope on his gaze piercing through his computer screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's getting darker and darker... I hope it's a good thing cause I like writing it !
> 
> Also, what do you think they did to Kara ? Hint : it is _not_ a boob job.
> 
> You can try to guess in the comments, but it's not like I'm going to give up the answer until the next chapter comes out ;)
> 
> Thank you for reading ! Once again, you can find me on Tumblr @Clarapuce


	23. To what extent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so sorry... I forgot I wrote this one and didn't publish it. I know. I hate myself as well, don't worry.  
> But it's here now ! Yay !
> 
> Enjoy !

The agent took a moment to regain control of her emotions before talking, thankful the blonde couldn’t hear the speed of her heartbeat. “Kara, it’s…” A couple of beats of silence, a gulp. “They injected something… in your heart,” she finally whispered, her voice cracking on the last word.

The silence was deafening and Alex wondered if Kara just gave up until she heard the quietest sigh. “I know.”

Thinking she heard wrong, Alex looked up from Kara’s chest; from the horrifying barely visible scars up to resigned eyes. “What ?”

Grunting, Kara put her hand on her chest as she sit up with her foster sister’s help, hands flimsily grasping at the cold metal for more help. Obviously in pain, she took a moment to recenter herself and breathe steadily until she felt a little more like herself again.

“I know.” As if steeling herself, Kara closed her eyes before opening them again and staring into Alex’s with a intense look. “I remember what they did, I _know._ ” It was said with such strength but she looked so vulnerable right there with the rough white fabric too large for her thin figure, the new paleness on fair skin and fear in now dull blue eyes.

Alex’s hands immediately reached for Kara’s and she gripped them tightly; maybe too much, but Kara didn’t complain. “Tell me,” she commanded through gritted teeth. “Tell me what they did.”

Alex hadn’t even finished her sentence that the blonde was already shaking her head. “Alex…”

“ _No,”_ she protested as soon as her name left Kara’s lips. “I need to know, tell me,” she said again, all of her repressed anger and frustration slowly pouring out at the same time as her words. When she saw Kara still hesitating, she used her most logical argument. “At least so I know what to do, how to help you.” An intense staring contest, a shaky inhale. “Tell me,” she pleaded this time, her eyebrows scrunching up together in desperation and fingers tugging imploringly at her flesh.

Kara’s shoulders slumped in defeat and Alex’s squared in anticipation, ready to take anything Kara would have to say. She was ready to be her rock or her _Alex_ as the alien used to say around the beginning of their friendship, describing the human as the only thing tethering her to Earth; to her new home.

“Kryptonite.”

The word was rushed out, pushed by force so it was said and she wouldn’t have to say it again; wouldn’t have to say or hear the word again. Boy, was she wrong.

“Kryptonite.” The dead tone made Kara’s heart beat faster and hurt more. “They… They _injected_ Kryptonite— _Kryptonite,_ into your heart.”

It was said like a fact, not unlike how Alex’s used to tell her fellow agents their lab results, but the question was clear. Feeling small all of the sudden, as if it was her fault and not something imposed and forced on her, Kara sank into herself. “Yes,” she whispered quietly, looking away.

The quietness lasted so long Kara thought Alex wasn’t ever going to respond, thought she was too angry with her to answer.  
But Alex was only trying to understand what she was feeling. Her body and mind felt so numb, but she could still clearly feel a strong emotion just below the surface, just outside of reach.

She wet her lips, feeling her mouth suddenly very dry, and scrunched her eyes closed because the light was too bright all of the sudden.   
Everything felt like too much, and yet, not enough to pinpoint her feelings exactly.

Inhaling through her nose and slowly exhaling through her mouth, she tried to calm herself down, go back into the present and with Kara. _Kara._

She felt a pinch on her cheek and the surprise finally brought her back. Her vision cleared and instead of bright white, all she could see now was blue. _Kara’s blue._

The blonde looked worried with her eyebrows pinched together, but also sheepish. Alex frowned as that particular face reminded her of something. When Kara rubbed her thumb on her cheek, the brunette remembered.  
After her nightmare, Kara pinched her to wake her up, looking worried and a bit sorry for having pinched her. Just like now. _Even_ now, she worried about her when _she_ was the one having been done experiments on.

So, once more, Alex squared her shoulders and tried to keep it to herself.

“I'm sorry, I'm fine, I'm just...”

“Taken by surprise ? Upset ?” She shrugged with a sad smile. “Yeah. But I'm alive.” It was hard, trying to reassure someone when you were scared of dying at any minute.

“Yeah…” Alex shakily breathed out, reaching to touch Kara’s face, trying to make the fact that she was alive more real; more palpable. _“How ?”_ she then asked, still confused as to why her favorite alien survived Kryptonite injected directly into her heart.

The blonde’s lower lip quivered and she took it between her teeth to stop the embarrassing proof of her weakness. She shrugged again, thumb not stopping its movement on Alex’s cheeks until the agent understood she must have been crying and Kara was gently wiping it away. What a duo they made, both hurt, scared and crying.

“I'm not sure,” she slowly said, like she didn't have the time to think about it before now. And Alex guessed she really didn't.

Mirroring Kara’s gesture, Alex gently took Kara’s face between her hands and lovingly stroked her cheeks with her thumbs. “I’m going to figure it out.” It was said so fiercely and convincingly that Kara couldn’t help but believe her. And since when her favorite human came back on her promises ? “I’ll figure it out and we’re going to get you all better. It’s all going to be fine, you’ll see.”

The slightly forced but still genuine grin instantly made the blonde relax, even through her chest pain, and return a small smile.  
But just as she thought that, for once, everything was going to be as Alex said, her whole body shook and she felt hot and cold at the same time and something as known as _sweat_ was experienced for the first time.

“Something’s wrong,” she choked out, the wild beating of her heart causing her to be out of breath and clutch her heart for what felt like the hundred times since she got back.

“Kara ?” She was supporting her now, helping lie down again as she didn’t seem to have the strength anymore to do so by herself. “What’s wrong ? What is it ?”

Her voice was frantic but she couldn’t calm down, not with _Kara_ panicking and hurting right before her eyes.

“Something’s wrong,” the blonde said again, panting and wheezing on the ground. Trying to focus in order to help Alex identify the problem, she closed her eyes and tried to hold her breath. “My fingertips—” A painful inhale. “Feel funny.”

The agent frowned and looked down at the blonde’s body, desperately trying to find the source, but the fear and adrenaline didn’t help her as it did on the field. Right then, she just felt powerless.

A voice echoed into the room and Alex wondered if the ringing in her ears prevented her from hearing the door open. “Symptoms have begun.”

Alex’s head snapped toward the voice and her frown deepened when she didn’t recognized the person. “What did you do ?” she accused in a hard voice, every muscle taut and straining to stop herself from moving. She couldn’t let her foster sister hurt by herself just so she could get a closer look of this stranger.

It was a man of average height and weight, dark hair and no facial hair. He could blend in anywhere.  
He was standing in front of their cells, intently watching the blonde painfully squirm on the ground while taking notes.   
He didn’t spare one glance at Alex, not when she asked him a question nor when she hit the bars hard, making them shake slightly. All of his attention was on Kara and Alex could easily guess why.

“Stop _studying_ her, do something !”

But her fury and indignation fell on deaf ears as the average man just kept observing the alien they just experimented on.  
Decided to just be there for Kara and ignore anything else she couldn’t do a damn thing about, Alex clenched her jaw and focused on the way Kara seemed to arch from the ground as if her whole body ached, _hurt._

“Alex…”

The name was whimpered so quietly that the brunette thought she imagined it, but a second later blue eyes found hers and all she knew was that she needed to be as close to Kara as possible.

“I’m here,” she soothingly murmured, pushing sweaty hair off her face. She knew the feeling, experienced it when J’onn employed her and she had to go through rehab at the DEO. Knew how painful it felt, how _helpless_ you felt. But she hoped a familiar face would do her more good than strangers’ at the DEO did her. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. We’re going to be alright.”

But reassurance wasn’t what Kara was presently seeking, and she reached out to grab her collar until the brunette’s nose poked out from between two metal bars.

“Alex,” she repeated in a whisper, eyes tired but determined. “I’m the one who—” A pained grunt, then “who let Streaky inside the house when you weren’t loo— looking.”

At some point during Kara’s sentence Alex started crying, and she could only let out a sad, watery chuckle as she pressed her hand behind Kara’s neck, her thumb cupping her jaw. “We knew,” she whispered, sniffing loudly and not caring how much like a mess she must look like.

Kara grinned sheepishly, her jaw working under Alex’s finger every time the searing pain was too intense and she tried to keep pained noises in. “Makes sense,” she in turn chuckled but it quickly turned sad again. She waited for a beat, just watching Alex, and confessed “I broke your bed, that’s why it was sloping.” Her voice was getting weaker and weaker, making Alex tense with worry.

“Why are you—” The agent froze then, hand hovering over the blonde’s forehead. “ _Kara,_ don’t say that kind of stuff.” The tone was angry but her voice quavering.

Grabbing the hand frozen above her face, Kara glanced toward the man still standing there, making Alex actually remember him, and looked back into the brunette’s eyes. “Alex, just listen—”

 _“No !”_ she choked out, her voice cracking and ending up sounding like a strangled gibberish. “No,” she said again, more definitive and forced. “Save that for when you’re actually dying.”

But Kara wasn’t deterred. “I’m the one who used all the hot water becau—” Her eyes widened and she stopped breathing, Alex mimicking her as dread cut her own airways. But, eventually, Kara coughed and inhaled deeply, feeling air entering her lungs once more and grasping at anything she could hold on to, which was Alex’s hands.

“Kara !” Alex was shaking now, any semblance of calm forgotten, and gripped Kara’s hands tightly. She heard a _hummed_ to her right and turned her head to see the man quietly nodding to himself as he wrote something down. “Do something,” she pleaded, breathless. “Can’t you see she needs help ?”

Asking for help from their captors was physically hurting her more than she could have imagined, but she’d do anything to save Kara.  
Unfortunately, the man just kept his eyes down on his notebook and kept writing; he was useless.

Giving up on this hope, seeing how her pleading did nothing to make him hesitate, she focused back on the blonde gasping in front of her, laying on the ground and eyes glued to the ceiling. Staying silent to let the Kara regain her breath and bearings back, Alex stayed close to her and stared at her face, ready to spot any breathing problem.

Finally, _finally,_ when her breathing evened out for a while, Kara turned her head toward Alex with misty eyes and gave her a small smile. “Because it grounded me.”

Frowning, Alex froze for a beat, then “What ?”

Kara’s smile grew, a tear rolling down on the ground. “The hot water. I took baths and long showers because it grounded me, feeling something on my skin.”

Alex let out a surprised chuckle, the fear of this whole not-breathing thing caused her to instantly forget what they were talking about. “Oh.”

Just as Alex started wondering, Kara gave her the answer. “I stopped when we became close though, because you were the one I was tethered to then.”

She didn’t think it was possible, but her heart seemed to stop and, simultaneously, beat as fast as it ever did. Her breath caught and tears started joining Kara’s in less than a second.

After an eternity, consciously ignoring the intruder, Alex spoke. “I hid your CD player,” she confessed with a grin; not her usual one, but not her grimmest one either.

Kara seemed to be taken by surprise and looked like she was trying to keep herself from laughing. _“What ?”_ she asked incredulously.

Smiling at the memory, Alex closed her eyes as she shook her head. “You were listening so much to such bad music…” she explained with a shrug. “It had to stop.”

With a wide smile, Kara looked back at the ceiling as she remembered. “I can’t believe you did that.” Strangely, she didn’t feel as bad anymore; as hurt. But she didn’t feel well either. “But it turned up again a few weeks later,” she recalled with her Crinkle, turning her head back to Alex.

Sheepishingly, the brunette looked away. “You seemed to really miss it…” When the blonde’s crinkle didn’t disappear, Alex shrugged again. “I hid it in a lead box,” she explained, knowing Kara was wondering.

“Should have known, you were such a brat,” she teased with her eyes back on the ceiling, an easy smile on her lips.

Alex breathed out a small laugh and let the quietness envelop them, letting them process their feelings about things newly revealed.  
After a long moment listening to Kara’s now even breathing, the brunette gulped, trying to dislodge what blocked her airways.

“Are you okay ?”

The blonde didn’t even react to the hesitant whisper, most likely having been expecting the question, and just kept on staring right ahead. When a few minutes passed and Alex’s anxiety grew, Kara blindly reached for the brunette’s hand and wordlessly grabbed it.  
Alex understood the need for quiet, for privacy when a stranger just kept studying her, and she suppressed her fears in order to be a comforting presence for her foster sister; she clearly needed it.

Every few minutes, Alex glanced toward her to check if she was still breathing, still awake, but other than that they kept quiet and stayed still.

During that long moment of silence, Alex thought about their time there. About how, like she had before, she’d have been up and screaming, demanding answers. But now, with Kara’s life on the line, she just kind of accepted her fate here.  
She wasn’t giving up, of course. She was just biding her time, waiting for the right opportunity. And when that time would come, she’ll be ready.

Just as they reached a more or less relaxed point in their captives’ lives, both laying next to each other hand in hand, the heavy door loudly opened again and they both startled.   
With their bruises and pain they only made it as far as sitting up, but they were alert.

Alex could see the strain it took for Kara to do this movement, with her panting and hand over her heart again, and she let go of the blonde’s hand in order to grab the bar. If needed, she’d get up and fight to the death for Kara.

The tall blonde woman entered, eyes on a tablet she held, and Alex saw someone who must be a bodyguard standing outside and close the door behind Lillian. So this room was guarded, cells or not. Unless it was Lillian that was being protected, meaning she needed to be from something. Or someone.  
Tucking that piece of information, that _hope_ into a corner of her brain, Alex glanced at Kara who was glaring at everyone in front of them. She was angry and she wasn’t hiding it.

They both stayed silent, knowing better than ask questions to people who wouldn’t answer, and carefully watched Lillian with her gaze still on her tablet.  
The tension was palpable and Kara eyed wearily the man who kept on studying her for what seemed like hours. She wondered what his purpose here was, why they couldn’t have installed cameras in the room instead of sending someone clearly making them uncomfortable. It couldn’t very well be real results if his mere presence changed their behavior. Unless he wasn’t monitoring them, but rather Kara’s reaction to their experiments.

After an endless silence, Lillian straightened and looked up with squinty eyes, the quiet somehow dragging on. Finally, she sighed as she handed her tablet to the nameless man.

“Well, we seem to be getting results rather quickly,” she satisfactorily commented, eyes on Kara. “I’m glad you’re cooperating.”

“We’re not.” Alex’s voice was hard and cutting, but that didn’t seem to get to Lillian as her position was obviously superior.

She hummed and took a step closer, gaze fixed on the agent this time. “Keep telling yourself that. Meanwhile, I know you won’t fight back unless you want something bad happen to the other.”

Her tone was so smug, so condescending, but once again, Alex knew better. She knew better than getting their kidnappers angry and lashing out on Kara when they wanted to.  
So she kept her mouth shut, consciously gripping the bar tighter to keep from launch herself toward the blonde in a useless gesture as the woman was standing too far from their cells to be reached.

“Why didn’t you just kill me ?”

At the defeated tone, Alex’s head snapped toward Kara and watched as her stance said something completely different from her voice. While her voice was weak, her body was taut and aggressive as she leaned forward, jaw clenched.  
She was afraid, vulnerable, but she was trying not to appear so; not to be.

“Kill you ?” Lillian let out an almost full body laugh, head slightly thrown backwards. _Just like a bad movie villain,_ Alex thought, and wondered if that was where she got her ideas too. “I’m not going to kill you, _Kara Zor-El.”_ Both foster sisters tensed, Kara gasping loudly at her name being said out loud. No one said it in _years,_ except for Alex when she wanted to threaten her for the last potsticker. Clearly pleased by their reactions, Lillian’s smug smile leveled up to a creepy one. “I just want to know more about you.”

“Just take me out to dinner then,” mumbled humorlessly the blonde alien, glaring daggers at Lillian.

“Oh, no need for that. I have everything I need right here,” she said as she stretched her arms out a little, most likely talking about the entire building.

Trying to get the attention off Kara, Alex snorted. “It’s missing a few decorations,” she commented dryly. “And some room service.”

This time, Lillian kept a straight face and didn’t even dignify her with an answer. Instead, she moved closer to the man and he handed his notes to her. Her eyes roamed the page, making acknowledgement noises every now and then until she read everything.

“Interesting…” she quietly hummed, stroking her chin like, _again,_ a bad movie villain. She kept at it for a few seconds, then looked up to watch Kara. “Your body is weaker, but it’s still Kryptonian. It’s quite remarkable.”

Kara stayed silent, weary but alert, and Alex briefly wondered why she wasn’t saying anything, wasn’t asking any questions until she remembered Kara was afraid of what her powers might do if fallen into the wrong hands. Like now.

Still, Alex needed to know; needed to gain intel for when they’ll get out of here. “What do you mean ?”

The older woman sighed and reluctantly took her eyes off of Kara to look at the brunette instead. “What is it to you ? It’s not like you will be able to use this information.”

Furtively glancing at Kara, noting how defeated she looked, Alex forced herself to slump her shoulders; look more Kara than how angry and fierce she really felt. “I just want to know everything I can about my sister, whether it’s the end or not.”

Looking satisfied for the first time about Alex, Lillian hummed appreciatively. “Ever the scientist I see,” she remarked with a respectful smirk, nodding her head in approval. “That’s why we had to get you out of the picture; or take you in as well if possible.” She paused, her eyes switching between the foster sisters for a few seconds before finally settling on Alex again. “We knew you were going to be our biggest obstacle to getting to _her,”_ she rudely explained with a tilt of her head in Kara’s direction, “so we had to take care of you. I’m afraid I made a mistake in hiring some secondhand hitman instead of doing it myself.” She was obviously talking about Alexander, having failed at killing her, and yet she still kept him around. “But as you can see,” she smiled again, looking between the blonde and the agent, “I fixed it.”

She seemed to proud and full of herself that Alex couldn’t stop from running her mouth. “Congrats, you used an entire organization to capture a civilian and her sister,” she spat.

With the tiniest clench of jaw, Lillian merely pursed her lips and shook her head. “Don’t think you have me fooled, Danvers.” Her tone was harder now, any pretension of being relaxed forgotten. “Your so called _sister_ here is the most powerful being on this planet, and you,” she pointed with squinted eyes, “are the fastest evolving and multi-tasking agent they have. Top of the field agents and astounding scientist, isn’t that right ?”

Alex stayed silent and Kara worriedly glanced at her. “You still haven’t answered my question,” she brunette forced out through gritted teeth, trying to get back to her real concern. She needed to know everything she could so she could help Kara heal once they got out of this horrible place.

Lillian looked like she wanted to snort but held it in, rolling her lips in as she watched her. She stood there, quiet, for a moment, deciding if she wanted to share information. In the end, she shrugged and put her hand out, palm up, and the man, forgotten but still there, handed her the tablet back.

“Supergirl here went into cardiac arrest earlier,” she blankly stated, finger scrolling a page on the device.

Kara’s eyes widened and the agent frowned. “Cardiac arrest ? No, I would have noticed it,” she countered immediately, shaking her head in rebuttal.

“It was over quickly,” Lillian absentmindedly  explained, eyes still focused on the tablet. “Her body is under a lot of stress : malnutrition, Kryptonite, dehydration. Plus mental stress. It should have been fatal; I thought it would have been.” She suddenly looked up and her glare bored into Kara, the latter squirming uncomfortably under the attention. Then, as if remembering she wasn’t supposed to show her fascination for aliens in front of them, she schooled her features back into a well-perfected blank mask. “She stopped breathing for a couple of seconds it seems,” she read the report out loud, voice clinical and distant. “It was short but it happened. Her Kryptonians genes saved her though, kept her alive and relatively healthy when she should have died hours ago.”

Hearing that Kara being still alive was a fluke, Alex couldn’t contain her anger. “You thought she was going to die ? Why capture her, then ? Why not kill us back at the apartment ?”

This time, Lillian didn’t even bother looking up from the notes. “I told you I had no interest in killing you.” A pause. “Yet.”

It didn’t make sense and Alex’s head throbbing didn’t help the matter. Still, she pushed through the pain and focused on the informations she had. “You said that, and yet, you didn’t expect her to survive the first experiment. It’s not logical—”

The agent didn’t even finish talking that Lillian’s head snapped up with an expression resembling anger; or maybe indignation ? “Everything I do is thoroughly thought of, every move is carefully calculated. I told you I didn’t underestimate you, please extend the same courtesy to myself.”

It was the most emotional she’s ever seen her. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she could see the older woman’s hands gripping tightly the tablet in her hands, trying to rein her anger in. If they wanted to get a rise out of her, insulting her intelligence was the way to go then. Alex tucked that data with the others, in a corner of her brain.

“If you weren’t trying to kill her, then why risk it at the very first experiment ?”

The Luthor breathed deeply for a few beats, calming her fast beating heart, all the while watching Alex with an intense glare. Eventually, she let out a deep breath and blindly gave the tablet back to the man to her right. “Kryptonite is the most interesting and effective weapon with have against Kryptonians. I can create others that could hurt them, that’s not a problem. I just want to know the extent of it. I want to know what it does to them when they don’t have powers.”

Slowly, her eyes left Alex to look at Kara again. The blonde woman hadn’t say a word in a while and Alex watched her closely. She behaved fiercely, eyes determined and angry, but she looked weak. All the stress Lillian previously listed obviously took a toll on her and the agent was worried once again.

“So why not try other forms of Kryptonite on her, instead of just outright pushing a dose right to her heart ?”

She knew it sounded like she was trying to get Kara tortured, experimented on, but she was trying to buy time. Experiments were better than murder, and she knew Kara would do the same if the roles were reversed. Sadly, they weren’t.

Without tearing her gaze off of Kara, Lillian answered “Because we tested everything else on her cousin.”

Kara gulped loudly and Alex immediately took her hand again, squeezing in a what she hoped was a reassuring gesture and not scary one; she couldn’t really control her force at the moment because she put all of her focus in trying to stay where she was and not getting up and try to strangle Lillian Luthor.

In short, they had no use for Kara anymore. Just some superficial tests to see how far they could go with injecting Kryptonite directly into her heart, but it was just child play at this point; scientific curiosity. One thing Kara was sure of ? If they didn’t get out of there _fast,_ she was going to die sooner rather than later.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

As the elevator biped his arrival to the top floor, J’onn squirmed in his suit. He wasn’t used to them as he spent most of his time in tactical and, somehow, comfortable gear. He fidgeted with his tie but stopped as the doors opened.  
Straightening his back, trying to look intimidating, he left the metal box with a sure step and looked around. He quickly spotted Cat Grant’s office, overlooking the entire floor with its glass walls, and strode right in.

He felt some people tense and stop breathing, their minds loud and unfocused, but nobody got up to stop him as he got close to her office. He loudly knocked on the open door and stepped inside without waiting for her answer.

“If it’s not urgent, please wait until my assistant do me the honor of coming back to work,” she distinctly commanded without looking up from her computer, two pair of glasses heavily sitting on she nose as she quickly typed.

The Martian barely raised an eyebrow and didn’t move, hands joined in front of him in a professional stance. He looked every bit the FBI agent he was trying to pass as, his fake badge safely tucked in his inside pocket, and he stared right at her as he waited for her to acknowledge his presence.

Sighing heavily, she closed her eyes as she put her glasses in front of her and looked up to watch him with disinterest. “Who are you ?”

“Agent Monroe, Madam,” he steadily answered. “FBI.” He took the badge out of his pocket and presented it to her, letting her take her time to closely examine it. “I am here on official business,” he continued when her gaze raised to his face, putting the badge away.

She watched him for a beat, the end of the branch of her glasses tapping lightly against her lips, then put it down and gave him all of her attention. “Are you here for my missing assistant ?” she eventually asked, eyes piercing right through his own.

Not giving anything away, J’onn tilted his head in fake surprise. “Missing ?”

Cat rolled her eyes and leaned back into her massive chair, crossing her arms. “Yes, _missing._ She’s been missing for more than a week and the police is doing nothing.”

“The police ?” J’onn frowned, now more alert. The police couldn’t meddle with their mission, it was too dangerous. “You filed a missing person report ?”

Sighing, her big move it seemed, the blonde woman looked at him like that was his brain that was missing. “Am I not talking loud enough ? Yes, she’s _missing and I called the police,”_ she enunciated slowly, like he was hard of hearing.

“Miss Grant...” he grunted, rubbing tiredly his forehead. “We have this under control, you shouldn’t involve the police.”

“Under control ?” she scoffed, shaking her head. “Then what are you doing here ? I assume you’re looking for her ?” With each sentence, each question, she pushed the knife farther and farther in the DEO’s Director’s lies. When J’onn stayed silent, Cat nodded in understanding. “I don’t know where she is, and she hasn’t contacted me. I tried calling her emergency contact, her _sister,_ but she didn’t pick up either. You wouldn’t know anything about that by any chance ? Since you work with her, right ?”

J’onn didn’t answer right away. Instead, he carefully watched the Queen of All Media and, without consent but barely enough to figure out what kind of person she was, read her mind.  
It turned out that she was a surprisingly good person and was ready to help if needed. She cared for Kara, in her own way, and didn’t want anything bad happen to her as she lit up the whole office with her constant beaming smile.

Taking the decision to trust her, the Director squared his shoulders and carefully chose his words. “Agent Danvers, Kara’s sister, does work with me.” He paused, trying to figure out what to divulge and what to leave unsaid. “Kara was briefly asked to help on an investigation due to her… knowledge on a particular subject, and we haven’t heard from them since then. I was hoping you could tell me who I could talk to, who are her friends here.”

He wanted to talk to Winn Schott but needed to talk to her first. Also, he wasn’t supposed to know Kara’s friends so it worked nicely for his cover.

Processing all of the information, Cat pursed her lips and glanced longingly at Kara’s desk before setting her gaze on J’onn once again. “I’d tell you to ask your questions to Mr. Schott, but he’s unfortunately been missing for a few days now. You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to him as well, would you ?” Her eyes were accusatory but her tone hopeful, like he was the key to their disappearance.

But J’onn frowned. “Mr. Schott hasn’t come in ?” Cat nodded her affirmation, carefully studying his expression. “Since when ?”

“A few days.”

Wordlessly, J’onn took his phone out and called Vasquez again. No answer. He tried again, just in case, but no answer came. He stayed there, unsure of what to do. This mission was completely top secret because of the mole and he just lost contact with everyone involved; even Kara’s friend.   
That was worrying because Winn wasn’t supposed to stop coming to work, wasn’t supposed to draw attention to him. He was supposed to be safe, away from all of this. Protected.

Something was wrong, and Winn’s disappearance only confirmed it. His agents not answering their temporary phones had been worrying enough, then Kara not picking up either was the last straw. And now, Winn missing… The mission had gone horribly wrong and he hadn’t even noticed.

“Thank you for your time,” he distractedly grumbled before turning away to leave.

“Agent Mulder !” Cat snapped as she hit the flat of her hand against her desk with a loud _snap._

J’onn stopped dead in his tracks, facing the other employees who turned their heads toward them in curiosity at the loud noise, and slowly turned around. “Yes, Miss Grant ?” he patiently asked, hands clasped behind his back.

“Close the door.”

It wasn’t asked, it was _demanded_ and the tall man found himself obeying her without thinking about it. Closing the massive glass door and glaring at anyone who was noisy enough to peek above the separation between the desks, he returned to his place in front of the blonde’s desk. “What is it ?” he asked in a monotone tone.

Cat Grant rolled her eyes and finally got up, circling her desk to lay back on it once in front of the fake FBI agent. “I’d like to help if I can,” she finally offered, eyes fierce and honest. He arms were crossed in a defensive move, jaw clenched and hands trembling with the strain of squeezing her own arms too tightly. She was determined; and scared.

“What makes you think that the FBI would need your help, Miss Grant ?” His tone was poised, bored, but his interest was piqued. He could really use an ally, especially the Queen of all Media; she must have connections everywhere and with anyone.

Chin high, her gaze didn’t waver. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t,” she simply replied, no smirk and no snark. Only truth and resolve.

But J’onn still hesitated. As much as she wanted her employees back and no matter how far she was willing to go, her connections came with a price : the loss of anonymity. She _was_ overseeing every means of sharing information all over the world after all; internet, TV, paper… She was everywhere, knew everything.   
It was a dangerous bet, but he _was_ alone until his agents contacted him back and he could use her help; her ressources.

Huffing, Cat grabbed a piece of paper from her desk and quickly scribbled something on it then slapped it against J’onn’s chest and got back into her seat. Clasped hands on her desk, crossed legs and spine straight, she looked like she just killed all of his pawns and was quietly waiting to say _check mate._

Lowering his gaze to look at the piece of paper and frowned. “I don’t give my personal number out to anyone. If you’d kindly find my assistant, she’ll confirm it.” Looking up, the agent watched Cat Grant visibly gulp before pursing her lips and taking a deep breath. “I just want my assistant back, I can’t keep answering the damn phone myself.” A pause. “I _will_ answer if you’re the one calling, though. I wasn’t lying when I offered my help, any way than I can.”

Watching her for a beat longer, the man decided to tell Kara to stop complaining about her boss because she had a big heart and cared for her, even under her harsh and cold facade.

He nodded with a serious expression, promising to call with a “I will,” and promptly left. He had things to do.


	24. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ready for some revelations ? Ready ? No ? Well. Try to enjoy the chapter anyway.

“So I suggest you enjoy what little time you have left with your faithful sister here,” Lillian said with empty eyes, not an ounce of sympathy for them when she was already planning on killing at least one of them.

She gave them a last glance before turning heels and opening the door to leave with the man hurrying to follow her, the outside guard dutifully closing it behind them.  
Silence settled in the room then, both sisters trying to process the information they were just fed. Heart beating painfully in her chest, Kara slowly turned her head to look at Alex.

The brunette was still staring at the closed door, her thoughts going a hundred miles an hour. She was trying to wrap her head around everything.  
At first, she thought she was going to lose her sister after that day when she was taken, then she began to hope again when Kara came back. Hurting but back all the same; and alive.  
And now, Lillian basically told them Kara was going to die soon, just so she could play with her little Kryptonite toys to see how far it could go.

Alex was feeling sick to her stomach, her insides lurching and turning as she gripped her stomach and breathed through her nose. She closed her eyes, feeling herself tremble with fear and disgust, and tried to get herself together.  
If what the woman said was true, then she didn’t have a lot of time left with Kara and she didn’t want to waste any by being weak. So she took a deep breath, wiped the sweat she felt on her forehead, and turned to face Kara. But just as she was going to offer her some empty reassurance, the blonde spoke.

“You have to escape,” she whispered, eyes darting around the room to make sure they were alone again. Not that there were many hiding spots, but they could never be too sure. “Find an opening next time they come for me, and run.”

Her eyes were so blue, hope shining through a sea of despair as her grip around the metal bars tightened. And Alex understood then; this was her dying wish.

“Kara…” she croaked, brows furrowed as she made her way to her, hands over Kara’s. “You can’t expect me to leave you here.” She tried to keep her voice down but the anger she felt made it difficult.

“I can and I am,” Kara affirmed with a determined expression. Her gaze locked on Alex’s and her eyes softened. “Please, I have to know that you’ll be okay after I… After.”

But Alex was already shaking her head. “ _Okay_ ? How can—”

“Alive,” Kara quickly corrected. “I want to know you’ll be _alive._ And then, you’ll have time to be okay again.” And the despair Alex saw in the blonde’s eyes changed then, becoming desperation for her and not her own death anymore. She was hanging on to her last hope; if she couldn’t stay alive, she needed Alex to be. “You’ll have time to take time for yourself, to take care of yourself for a change. And you’ll have your old place back,” she joked with a breathless chuckle, tears finally making their way down her cheeks as her eyes dropped closed and her forehead gently touched the bars. “Please,” she pleaded in a broken whisper, tears falling on their joined hands.

Alex tried to choke down a sob, failing, and put her forehead against Kara’s, trying to be in contact with as much Kara as she could. “You can’t ask me to do that,” Alex sniffed while shaking her head, rubbing her skin against Kara’s. “You can’t ask me to live as if the most important person of my life hadn’t just _died._ I can’t lose you, Kar’, I just can’t...”

Kara raised her head to look at Alex and put her hand against her cheek, rubbing soothing  circles on her cheekbone. “You can, you’re strong. You’re stronger than I am and I survived losing my entire planet. You’ll be okay,” she promised in a murmur, willing her sister to believe it; willing herself to believe it. When Alex did nothing but sniff loudly, Kara put her other hand on Alex’s other cheek, lovingly cradling the brunette’s face. “Listen to me, I think I saw how they opened the gates. When they come back to take me, I’ll try to open yours and you’ll have to escape then, okay ?”

Putting both of her hands over Kara’s, Alex stared at blue eyes. “Kara—”

“And if I can’t, you have to find a way. Do you understand ? You have to get out of here, you have to live and—”

“Stop it,” Alex brokenly whispered with a squeeze of her hands, breathing fast and irregular just at the thought of leaving Kara behind.

“And be happy,” Kara finished in a sad but determined murmur. “I can’t go without knowing you’ll at least _try_ to be okay.” A pause of intense staring. “Please, just— tell me you’ll try.”

It was going to be physically painful to say this, but Alex had to. For Kara, for her peace of mind and her own, knowing she at least gave that to Kara.

“I—” She cleared her throat, the fresh tears and closed up throat making it difficult to speak clearly. “I will,” she tried again. “I’ll try.” It was a promise she didn’t know she could keep, but she’ll try her hardest. Try her hardest to save Kara, die trying if she had to, but at least she’d have _tried._

“Okay,” Kara sighed, relieved, closing her eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them again. “Thank you,” she said with a small smile, her gratefulness clear in the way her eyes crinkled with peace. “I don’t know what I’d do if I knew you were going to give up, that’d be… too much. I love you too much, Alex.” Her voice turned into a whisper once again, the weight of her words heavily looming over them.

They both seemed to hold their breath, Kara’s confession suddenly coming back into focus as their current situation didn’t leave much room for anything but fear and anger.  
Alex’s heart was pounding loudly in her chest, her eyes seeing a different reality instead of this one if she wanted to; if she made a different choice. Her chest painfully constricted at the realization, taking her breath she’s been holding away, and she gasped as she was going to tell her breakthrough.

“Kara, I thi—”

A loud _clang_ echoed in the room, interrupting what she wanted to say, and both women startled. They jumped and their heads whipped toward the door being opened, hearts stopping for a beat before painfully speeding up at the sight of Lillian and her goons coming to take the Kryptonian away. For the last time.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The loud sound of rustling was disturbing everyone, but no one dared to intervene. Especially since every few minutes a displeased grunt joined the sound to further frighten the employees making sure to stay out of her sight.  
After a good hour, the annoyed noises came to a stop before the woman sucked in a breath and yelled “LAKEY !” with everything her lungs had to offer.

The whole open space just froze for a second before most of the employees ran off, hid under their desks or simply ignored the situation. After a moment, a woman and a man came up to a rather small dark haired man and each took one if his arm, pulling him toward the source of everyone’s dread.

“Come on,” the woman whispered, pushing his arm while staying safely behind him. “You know she’s calling for you.”

The man being unwillingly pushed was half heartedly struggling to stay in place, sweat running down his back in fear. “You— You don’t know that, that’s not my _actual_ name, you know,” he weakly defended, eyes looking ahead, knowing no matter how hard he tried he was still going to end up as the sacrifice.

The man shoving his right side grunted. “Stop being delusional, you’ve officially been rebranded. I’m sure you’ll have to change your name on your driving license at some point.”

Still being forced to advance, the dark haired man gulped loudly, his efforts at stopping his movements becoming less and less vigorous. “Joke’s on you, I don’t have a driving license,” he mumbled with his wide eyes still staring at the fast approaching place of his death.

With one last shove from the man and woman, he now stood in front of a very angry blonde woman while his two colleagues ran away.  
She was staring at him with a clearly displeased expression, hands on her hips, and was obviously more seething than simply annoyed.

“You took your sweet time,” she commented through gritted teeth before going back to rummaging through piles of papers on her large desk.

He fidgeted with his tie before taking a shaky breath in. “So— Sorry, it’s just that ‘Lakey’ is not my actual…” Glaring over her shoulder, the woman dared him to finish his sentence. “Name… Yeah, that’s not important” he whispered to himself, earning himself a short reprieve as she shoved her hands back into a box sitting on her desk, searching vehemently for something.

“I didn’t call you in here to correct me,” she snapped, sighing heavily as she straightened empty handed and turned around to face him. “I need you to go down to Archives and give me a file.” She scribbled down a reference number on a piece of paper before practically shoving it against his chest and rounding her desk to sit on her chair. Looking up from her computer, she noticed he was still standing there, a dumb look on his face. “Well ?” she drawled, squinting dangerously at him.

“Well…” He squirmed, briefly glancing behind him and seeing his colleagues quickly hide again. “It’s just… Isn’t your assistant’s supposed to do those things ?” he apprehensively asked, face whiter as seconds passed and the blonde’s glare didn’t falter.

After a long moment, she slowly rose from her chair but kept her hands flat on her desk. “As you can see, I’m a little short on assistants at the moment,” she clearly enunciated as if he was missing a large part of his brain.

Unfortunately, this has been going on for a while now and while Kara was appreciated by all, their boss’ anger and nastiness had worsened during her absence and every employee just wanted an assistant to serve the Queen; any assistant.

“Can’t you—” He quickly backpedaled at the glower he received, his knees actually shaking a little. “Would you like me to… look into hiring a new one ?” A few beats of silence. “A temporary one ?” he hesitantly tried again, fingers clutching too tightly and effectively tearing the paper in his hands. The silence stretched, Cat Grant’s stare turning him into a ball of nerves ready to snap. “Or I could just— just go to look for the file myself,” he weakly and unnecessarily offered since she already asked it of him and hurried off, taking the stairs so he wouldn’t have to wait for the elevator in Cat Grant’s line of sight.

“Do you think Jake’s been fired ?” came the fearful whisper from the woman who helped her colleague to bring Jake in front of Cat Grant, eyes following him as he darted toward the stairs.

“I don’t know,” the other man mumbled, eyes on his computer as he tried to ignore everything else. Being invisible was the best thing to be in this place.

Cat rolled her eyes and sighed as she sit down, rubbing her temples as she felt her headache coming. With a forlorn look toward Kara’s desk, she thought that if the blonde was here the medicine would already have been on her desk with a glass of water without asking.  
Just as she finally was going to go back to work, a cell phone rang loudly and she frowned.

“Whose phone is disturbing the whole _building ?”_ she complained loud enough for the whole bullpen to hear her.

After a couple of seconds without answer, she sighed and got up, ready to march outside of her office and fire some people. But just as she reached her couch in the middle of the room, she quickly realized the noise was coming from one of the two couches.

Scowling as she wondered who was stupid enough to leave their phone on someone’s couch at work, never mind the fact that no one sat there since Kara disappeared, and she bent down to search for it only find it between two cushions.

“Hello ?” she carefully answered.

 _“Miss Grant,”_ the other, lower voice greeted. _“This is Agent—”_

“Mulder,” she said while masking her surprise, briefly looking at the phone she was holding and seeing it was an old flip phone before setting it back at her ear. “What can I do for you ?”

He seemed to be taken aback by the lack of resistance on her part because the line was silent for a beat before he eventually answered. _“I need phone records. Do you have contacts ?”_

She thought for a second before humming. “I have people in the NCPD.”

 _“No,”_ came the instant reply before the man awkwardly cleared his throat. _“I’d rather not have them involved. They might be… Well, some officers have been known to be against what we stand for,”_ he vaguely explained, not wanting to incriminate the NCPD as a whole but also wanting to make sure Cat understood the seriousness of the situation.

“I see.” She paused, trying to remember if she knew people outside of the law force able to help her. “I do have some old sources from my journalism days still owing me favors. I’ll see what I can do and get back to you.”

A relieved sigh was heard through the phone and Cat guessed he also didn’t have the easiest day. _“Thank you, Miss Grant. I’ll send you the numbers by text, it’s a private line.”_

And just like that, the call was over and she suddenly had a lot more to do than only a few minutes ago. She sighed and got to work.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The days were becoming longer and longer with being cooped up with basically a stranger without being able to go out. Elbows on his knees and hands clutching at his hair, Winn groaned out loud in frustration, his foot tapping rapidly and repeatedly the floor without stopping.

“Could you stop that, please ?” Her tone was calm but was only hiding her own frustration in it. “It won’t help finding them faster.”

Just as Winn raised his head to snap at her, his stress making him way less tolerant the longer it went on, a loud _beep_ came from his computer. His head snapped to the screen as he fell on his knees in his haste to be closer to the computer, sitting on his coffee table, and he loudly hit the table with his palms.  
Vasquez startled and scowled, eyes slowly coming back to the book she’s been reading for the last few days as Winn didn’t say anything. Eventually, after a few keys pushed on his computer, the man started chuckling which quickly turned into a full hysterical laugh as he fell backward and his back hit the couch behind him. The Agent worryingly stared at him but said nothing, knowing he would eventually speak.

After a minute, he finally calmed down and jumped with his fists in the air. “YEAH !” he shouted a couple of times, jumping each time. “It _did_ help after all !” he said while sitting back down in front of his computer, staring at the blinking red point on the screen with a big smile on his face. “I found them ! It finally cracked Alex’s tracker, we have to—”

He cut himself off when heard a _thump_ and turned his head to see Vasquez’ book on the floor, pages awkwardly bent as it fell like it was thrown. He frowned and slowly got up, looking around but seeing no one, the woman nowhere in sight.  
Once standing to his full height, he scratched the back of his head as he thought of what might have happened to his maybe friend. A second later he felt something violently make contact with his fingers still on his head and felt his consciousness slip away, the wound clearly bigger on his head than on his most likely broken fingers.

He felt himself fall but saw completely black only when his forehead hit the table.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Thirty minutes later, Cat’s source called her back to say she was behind the Catco building, waiting for the Queen of all Media in some dark alley with the informations she asked for. Trusting her previous gut feeling about this person, Cat left her office to meet her without any security, waving away the bodyguard on the first floor who was starting to follow her.

She took a deep breath as she met fresh air, feeling like she hasn’t been outside in days; since Kara left actually, having to do both of their work to keep the company from crashing to the ground.  
Shaking bad thoughts away, she confidently strode toward the place her source told her she’d be, looking around to make sure she wasn’t being followed before turning right. She had to take her sunglasses off as she went deeper in the dark alley, putting them back in her bag and letting her hand in there, fingers around her 5mm. Just in case.

“Jane ?” she whispered, not out of fear but because she wasn’t sure she’d see her in this darkness if her old source didn’t speak out.

Fortunately, the woman wasn’t here to play either and she quickly answered. “Here, Cat,” she whispered back, peeking her head out from between two big dumpsters on the side.

With a last glance behind her, Cat approached the woman with her hand still in her bag. “Nice to see you again, Jane,” she greeted, eyeing up and down; after all, it had been at least ten years since they’ve seen each other.

The brunette rolled her eyes with a grin, shaking her head a little. “You can take your hand out of your purse, I didn’t bring anything but what you asked for,” she promised, hands slightly in the air while looking down at her own body before raising an eyebrow at Cat, showing her she didn’t have anything else on her but the papers in her hand.

Cat smirked back and took her hand out of her purse, shrugging before putting both of her hands on her hips. “You can’t blame me for taking precautions,” she said with a raise of her own eyebrow, this careful game old and familiar between the two acquaintances.

“Sure I can,” Jane teased as she folded her arms against her chest but kept her posture relaxed, leaning her shoulder against the dumpster on her left. Cat huffed but grimaced in distaste at the gesture, carefully eyeing her surroundings and almost pinched her nose to keep the smells out. “And I see you still have a problem with germs.”

“I’m hardly the problem here,” she scoffed, gesturing at the smelly and dirty dumpster. “Surely you can see that anyone would have a problem with this.”

“But I’m not anyone,” the brunette said with a suggestive tone, her voice lower than Cat remembered.

“No, you’re not,” Cat affirmed with her fingers absentmindedly tapping on her bicep after crossing her arms. “And that’s why I called you, I knew that even after all this time I could count on you.” Before Jane could reply, Cat kept talking; she didn’t have that much time, her sanity at work was on the line. “So, what do you have for me ?”

Jane pursed her lips to hide a smirk and stretched her hand to give the thin yellow folder to Cat. “It wasn’t as easy as I thought it’d be, but I found the phone records. It’s from prepaid phones so it really was near impossible to get them.” She paused, glancing down at the papers Cat had on her hands, folder open and eyes roaming the pages. “Is it from a federal agency ?” she inquired in almost a whisper, gaze darting around in fear. “Do _I_ have to take precaution ?” she asked seriously, referencing to the piece of metal the blonde was carrying around in her purse.

Looking up from the information, Cat stared at the woman before her for a few seconds. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’d suggest you do, just in case.” She reached in her purse again and the brunette tensed, ready to bolt before Cat took a thick envelope out and handed it to her. “It covers your service plus some help if need be.”

Jane frowned and took the envelope to inspect it, frown deepening as she saw what was inside. “Cat, I can’t take that much,” she gasped with a shake of her head, ready to give it back to the older woman.

But the blonde only shook her head in turn, hand closing the envelope again and pushing it against the other woman’s chest. “Take it, I insist. I…” She sighed, looking around once more, an old habit. “I don’t know who we’re up against here, or what. I’d feel better if I knew you had the means to take care of yourself.”

Hesitantly, Jane nodded and hid the envelope in one of her inside pockets. “If you’re sure…”

“I am,” Cat instantly answered, eyes never wavering. “You should go,” she suggested while folding the folder inside her bag. “Thank you,” she sincerely said with a squeeze on the brunette’s arm in gratefulness.

And without one last glance, Cat Grant left the smelly alley and joined back the real world, finally able to breathe through her nose again.  
Trying to keep her pace just slow enough so she didn’t look like she was trying to run away from someone but quick enough to be as fast as possible in the safety of her building, Cat went through the little information she had time to read before having to shut the folder closed. It was the first time she saw so few numbers on phones records, but she guessed it was normal for Federal Agents’ prepaid phones.  
Feet tapping incessantly on the floor of her private elevator, she tried to keep her breathing calm until she could review everything thoroughly at her own desk. When finally she reached the top floor, she confidently strode into her own office, ignoring gasps of fear and surprise and noises of shattering as people tried to hide or get out of her warpath.

She closed the doors as she came in her office and promptly sat on one of her couches, too much in a hurry to wait all the way up to her desk. She took the phone J’onn hid and read his text again, vaguely explaining what were those phone records from and why.

She looked outside of her office to make sure no one was spying and was all too happy to see her employees were too afraid of her to even look in her direction at the moment. So she took the papers out of her purse and carefully read them over.  
She read the first two phone records with nothing abnormal, one with only two calls and the other with her number on it and quickly guessed whose it was.  
But she paused at the third one, frowning as she saw how much it differed from the first two.

“Interesting…” she murmured to herself.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Kara, get back,” Alex quickly commanded while getting on her feet, hand gripping the metal bars to help herself because her ribs were still throbbing painfully.

Sending her foster sister a worried look, Kara wordlessly complied. Slowly, she backtracked by pushing with her feet and hands, eyes glued to Lillian dangerously approaching her cell.  
As Kara thought, she subtly pushed a button hidden behind what looked like a switch and her bars slowly raised themselves without a noise.

And even though she made her peace, knowing Alex will do everything she could to survive and then live, the blonde still felt her body shook. She was going to _die._ Cease to exist. Not able to see, hear, feel; think. And everybody will remember her without being able to see her anymore, talk to her.  
And she won’t be able to see Alex either, wherever she’ll end up.

Well, she knew she was going to see her old family again, be at their side in Rao’s light. Knew they were going to take her hand as her consciousness was going to slowly slip away to take her with them. It still didn’t make it easier to leave her new family, to leave Alex.

“Alex…” The whimper came out without her permission, the reality finally sinking in and the terror making her terrified.

 _I’m a coward,_ she bitterly thought. She knew Alex went through worse in her years at the DEO and yet she also knew her bad ass foster sister never shivered in fear like she currently was.

Alex’s heart was beating so hard it felt like it was trying to crash through her chest and she watched Lillian’s goons came in Kara’s cage. Trying to breathe slowly through her nose to stay calm and level-headed, the brunette tried to reach the men slowly advancing toward Kara through the bars to at least slow them down.

It didn’t work.

As she flailed her arms to hopefully scratch at least one of the two men, she watched helplessly as the taller one crouched in front of a trembling Kryptonian with a gentle smile. For a second, she thought how odd it was that most of the people they’ve seen here seemed genuinely kind, like they were certain what they were doing was the right thing; even Alexander _after_ trying to kill them at Winn’s apartment. Well, except for Lillian and the one who examined them after Kara’s experiment.

“No, no, no, Kara !” she began shouting, feeling the truth finally fully taking hold in her mind. “Kara !”

The man still standing up approached Alex and grabbed her right arm while staying out of reach of her left one. He stretched it against the bars and pushed a bit more until Alex hissed in pain.

“If you don’t want to have your dominant arm broken, please be quiet,” he half asked half threatened, always with a gentle smile. _What was going on in here ?_

The agent clenched her teeth in anger, eyes still fixed on Kara’s who was still shivering on the ground. The man before the blonde held out his hand, patiently waiting for the Kryptonian to take it.

“Come on,” Alexander softly urged, fingers making a ‘come here’ motion. “The sooner the better.”

Kara took a deep breath then looked at Alex as she shakily released it, eyes piercing through her mind and soul causing the brunette to instantly well up. Kara gave her a little nod and slowly took the man’s hand, letting him help her stand up on shaky legs before feeling so dizzy she stumbled.

“Kara !” Alex called out worriedly, ignoring the way the man bent her arm a little further than comfortable.

The man helping Kara stabilized her with an arm around her shoulders, trying to look into her eyes to check on her but they were closed. Bringing a hand to her forehead, the blonde stood still for a couple of seconds before slowly reopening her eyes, immediately finding Alex’s fearful ones.

“I’m fine,” she promised with a small but encouraging smile. _Not that it matters anymore,_ she humorlessly thought with a slight shake of her head. “I’ll see you…” She trailed off, looking up to the cement ceiling and stared at the red sun lamps with a nostalgic yet peaceful look. “Up there,” she finished as she looked down at her foster sister, eyes full of meaning and promises.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_“Thinking of your family ?” Alex gently inquired as she carefully sat down next to Kara on the roof, the latter hugging her knees to her chest with eyes locked up on some point in the sky._

_The blonde lowly hummed, staring up for a few seconds in silence before redirecting her gaze on Alex as she laid her right cheek on her arms. “They’re waiting for me,” she said in a whisper, like a confession, before dropping her gaze on the brunette’s naked feet as if ashamed._

_There was a couple of seconds of silence before Kara felt warmth on her fingers poking out under her arms and between her legs and torso. “Are you okay ?”_

_But Kara didn’t look up, eyes staring at the way Alex’s feet were becoming a little red as the cold hit her skin, and shook her head a little before hiding it in her arms. Now all she could see was darkness as if she hadn’t seen enough in her pod but she couldn’t face another person with her shame. Her dark secret._

_The warmth on her fingers left and for a second she was glad, but regret and loneliness hit her right after. And before she could really feel the weight of those emotions overwhelm her, the warmth reappeared around her shoulders as Alex side hugged her. She felt a weight on her head and guessed her new foster sister must have laid her own on hers, a comforting gesture perhaps._

_“You can talk to me if you want. I won’t judge you or talk about it again if you don’t want to.”_

_The reassuring whisper slipped in through the silence and relief washed over Kara, cutting through her anxiety and fear. So she took a leap of faith in this new family she had now the luck of knowing for a few months and talked._

_“They’re waiting for me and I… I used to want to join them, dreamt about it even.”_

_Alex nodded again Kara’s head, squeezing the blonde’s shoulder a bit to spread her support and comfort. “And now ?” The question was careful and kind, not waiting for anything the young girl was unwilling to give._

_Kara took her time, burying her head in Alex’s neck this time and taking refuge under her dark hair. Hiding from the sky._

_“And now… I’m starting to like it here, and you guys. I’m not sure if it’s what I want anymore…” she brokenly confessed, tears silently wetting Alex’s tee-shirt, before she sniffed. “I’m a disgrace,” she finally sobbed, releasing her knees in favor of clutching Alex’s clothes so hard it tore at some places._

_But the brunette didn’t care and only held the small alien tighter in her arms, now both encircling the Kryptonian. She rubbed her back in a shooting gesture, trying to make the girl more comfortable._

_“You’re not a disgrace,” she fervently promised, stroking her hair when the blonde tried to pull away to stop her. “You’re not. You’re strong for surviving and even stronger for living after everything that happened and everything you’ve witnessed. So, you’re not a disgrace. If anything, you’re a freaking superhero.” She felt Kara shake her head against her shoulder so she put both of her hands on the blonde’s cheeks and made her look her in the eyes. “Yes,” she nodded, eyes fierce, “you are. Never doubt that. And you’ll join your family again up there,” she jerked her head toward the sky, face serious and full of promises._

_But Kara’s sad eyes began crinkling and her scrunched up eyebrows relaxed as her lips curved up until it became a full on smile, quickly followed by a snort and a short chuckle. “‘m sorry,” she apologized with a hand on her mouth but eyes still smiling._

_Alex frowned but still smiled, a confused expression on her face. “What did I say ?”_

_“Nothing,” Kara denied, eyes finally devoid of tears, but Alex only had to raise an eyebrow to make her talk; make her feel safe enough to. “It’s just— ‘up there’ you said, but it’s not.”_

_Alex’s other eyebrow joined the other one up in a surprised expression. “It’s not ?”_

_“No,” Kara said with a kind smile and a small shake of her head. “We don’t believe we end up anywhere else but in Rao’s light, and Rao is everywhere, whether you can see it or not,” she said as her eyes still chased a specific spot in the sky. “We don’t end up ‘up there’, we end up nowhere and everywhere at once.”_

_Her tone was calm and gentle, explaining something so personal and complicated Alex felt like Kara was a teacher and Alex was only passing by her class during a lesson she wasn’t even a part of. And Alex was in awe of this small but tough alien before her, talking about something profound and ingrained in her from such a long time it was now a part of her forever._

_And now Kara put her head back on Alex’s shoulder, but no longer hiding, and they both looked up in the dark sky._

_After a long moment, Alex spoke up again. “It’s still ‘up there’ for me,” she said, surprising Kara. “Because when I think about you, I think about how you always look up there. So, for me, it’s always going to be ‘up there’ when it’s about you because that’s where I look when I think about you.”_

_So this time Kara hid again in Alex’s shoulder, hid her smile and her happy tears as she nodded, making her new foster sister beam. “‘Up there’ it is,” she agreed._

 

 

* * *

 

 

The agent shook her head, cheeks wet and eyes watching every move the Kara made as she was being walked out of her cell. The blonde didn’t want to go, it was going against everything she ever wanted and needed, but she knew it’d be better for Alex to see her go quietly rather than having her screaming as her last memories of her.  
But then she thought of what Alex told her that day, her eyes staring at hers.

_You’re strong for surviving and even stronger for living after everything that happened and everything you’ve witnessed. So, you’re not a disgrace. If anything, you’re a freaking superhero._

And then she knew she couldn’t go without a fight, couldn’t let her sister see her giving up on life; on her. So she slipped her hand out of Alexander’s and punched him right in the jaw. She watched him fall on his side, too taken by surprise to block the attack, and turned around to face the other one still holding Alex’s arm.  
As he let go, Alex grabbed him back and she turned around with her arm still sticking out of between the bars to reach him with her other arm. As of now, she had her back to the man but was holding him as hard as she could with both of her arms so Kara could have a chance.

The man groaned and violently hit and pushed Alex’s arms away but it did give Kara a head start, enough for her to kick him where no man would ever want to be kicked.  
And now Kara was standing while the two men were on the ground. Alexander out cold, and the other one grunting and whining as he clutched at his crotch in pain and the blonde couldn’t help but feel freaking proud of herself. Overpowering two men without her powers or even just her strength.

And now, the only thing separating her from Lillian, from the outside, was opened and gone.

But the smug look on Lillian’s face made her pause. Something wasn’t right.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Cat huffed, already planning on leaving after having knocked at least twice now. She wasn’t someone people made wait and she wasn’t so worried about the man that she’d stay longer than she had to.  
With an eye roll to herself, the small woman sighed and knocked a last time on the door, almost pounding so her impatience and frustration about the whole thing would be obvious.

She was rewarded with loud rustling noise coming from inside the apartment followed by hands apparently patting the door. She heard locks being unlocked and then she was standing face to face to a badly bleeding man, his eyes on her eye level only thanks to her heels.

“Miss Grant ?” The tone was confused and soft as if tired.

Cat frowned at the sight and reached with her hand to push some of his hair away from his forehead to see where the blood was coming from.

“Witt, what happened to you ?” she breathed, seeing the large cut on his hairline before pushing him further inside and locking the door behind them.

She then gently pushed him by his shoulder and led him to sit on his couch.

“I’m not sure,” he mumbled, eyes unfocused as he blindly followed her unspoken instructions.

She took a sit next to him and inspected the wound closer, grimacing as she saw how deep it was. She tried to catch his eye be he seemed lost, looking at nothing in particular, so she snapped her fingers in front of him and he jumped.

“Stay with me, Witt,” she commanded, hoping her bossy tone would make him more alert. And she wasn’t wrong.

“Miss Grant ?” he frowned before touching his head with his hand and hissing at the pain. “Wha—” Seeing his hand full of blood he grew pale and frantically looked around, hands on the couch at his sides ready to push himself to stand up. Alert he was.

But Cat grabbed his hand and squeezed until he looked at her again. “Stay calm, Mr Schott. You’re safe now,” she reassured him, only 80% sure they actually were safe and that someone wasn’t still hiding inside and ready to jump them.

He squeezed his eyes shut before reopening them wide and scared. “Vasquez !” he gasped, this time getting up and stumbling.

He put his hand on walls and chairs to stay upright as he looked around his apartment, missing nothing. Slowly, he came back to the living room where Cat was patiently waiting for him and he stopped next to the front door, hand on a chair.

“She’s gone…” he whispered in disbelief.

Worried, Cat got up and put her hand on his upper back, gently urging him forward so they could sat down again. “Who’s gone ?”

This wasn’t what she expected when she came here. She came here to check on her employee, maybe intimidate him into telling her where the hell was Kara. And now…

“Agent Vasquez,” he absentmindedly mumbled, staring at the spot where his computer was.

But now it was just an empty spot, blood dripping on the angle of the coffee table where he must have hit his head. His only clue to where the Danvers, and most likely Vasquez too were, was gone.

The blonde took his head between her hands, holding him maybe a little too tight but determined to make him talk, staring right into his eyes. “Schott, focus. What happened ? Where’s Kara ?”

“I— I’m—” He tried to shake his head but Cat’s hold was ironclad and it unsettled him enough to tell the truth. “Kidnapped,” he blurted out, closing his eyes shut as he realized his mistake. “I mean— I don’t know, she— she must be home sick or—”

“No need to cover for her,” she snapped, tired and even scared now as she looked at the wounded and confused employee before her. “I met with Agent Mulder, I know the sister is FBI. I’m trying to help you here.”

“Agent Mulder ?” he asked, confused. All of this headache was starting to make it hard to focus.

“FBI Agent, tall, dark, handsome,” Cat impatiently listed. “Quite the broody type,” she added as an afterthought, thinking back to the mask of professionalism he kept at all time, even in his texts.

Realization dawned on Winn, his eyes widening a bit and brows shooting up. “Oh, you met Henshaw ?” he asked in surprise, wondering why the director of a top secret base would meet with the person basically controlling every information civils received through media or journals; it didn’t seem wise.

Feeling her employee was back into the present now, she let go of his cheeks and put her hands on her lap. “Yes, obviously,” she drawled as she rolled her eyes. “He wanted to know if I saw Kiera or you,” she explained with a raised eyebrow. Seeing him pursing his lips, she pushed a bit more. “He seemed to think you’d somehow know more than him about her whereabouts.”

She gave him her famous staring down, known for breaking more than a few well known business men into agreeing to something they were against in the beginning of the meeting. As expected, he quickly gave in even if it pained him to sell his friends to their boss.

“Fine,” he groaned, putting his head in his hands, elbow on his knees. It seemed his wound made him sleepy as well as slow to understand things today. “The people going after Kara’s sister finally succeeded. They broke in and took Kara and Alex, her sister.” He sighed as he raised his head to look at the empty spot on his coffee table. “We tried to find them for a few days now, another FBI agent and I, but… I’m not sure exactly when, someone must have come in and knocked me unconscious and took this other Agent, Vasquez. So now we have to find _two_ agents and Kara.”

His voice grew more and more frustrated as he went on, the tone louder and louder, while Cat watched him with fear but also compassion.  
Fear because she just found out her protegee got kidnapped by people who were after a federal agent, and compassion because she could see how troubled he was, and could guess the guilt he felt at not being able to find them. She knew just how much Kara meant to him if his longing looks were anything to go by.

Taking a deep breath to get her self control and her coldness back in order to be objective and not be distracted by emotion, Cat gently slammed her hands on her lap before getting up.

“Well, let’s go find them, then.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“If you think they’re the only help I have, you’re strongly mistaken,” she mysteriously said with a smirk, arms crossed over her chest like she didn’t have a care in the world, like Kara didn’t just knock out two of her men in two strikes; Like a Kryptonian wasn’t free and willing to do anything to save her sister.

Alex clenched her jaw and Kara her fists. “And if you think we’ll go down without a fight, _you’re_ strongly mistaken,” Kara bit back, whole body trembling with adrenaline and anxiety. It was most likely her only opening to take Lillian down and she couldn’t mess it up.

Alex briefly thought she had to teach Kara better comebacks. Even if she wouldn't have any use for it in a fight situation as she wasn't ever going to be out as a superhero, she thought she owed her that much. For general public. And if not for Kara, then for herself and her own pride.

The look Lillian gave her was almost sympathetic, almost gentle if you tried hard enough to imagine emotion on the woman’s face. But it was cold and hard, a lack of interest for their lives and only a tinge sadness to not being able to study them anymore because they were about to die.

Just as Kara was going to charge at her to finish it once and for all, her ankle was gripped by strong fingers and she felt herself fall on her side before the movement was fully processed in her mind. She hit the ground hard and groaned as she felt her right cheek painfully throb against the cold floor.

“Kara !” Alex cried out, more frustrated than ever to not be able to help.

Alexander pulled a disoriented blonde toward him and got up when she was close enough for him to put his forearm against her throat. It wasn’t enough strength to stop her from breathing but plenty enough for her to stop moving.

“Let go of her !” the brunette screamed, trashing against the bars in her anger. “Don’t touch her ! I’m gonna kill you,” she loudly hissed, fists red and throbbing after hitting the metal separating them so many times. “I swear, I’m gonna catch you and you’ll wish you were dead before I actually grant you your wish,” she dangerously menaced him, eyes on fire and determined to see through her very serious threat.

While Kara tightly gripped Alexander’s arm with both of her hands, trying to push him away, Lillian’s hum almost turned into a scoff. “I don’t know why you think I’d only rely on those good for nothing to do the important work here.”

Something in her sentence didn’t sit right by Alex and she felt her stomach turn at the implication. The implication that she was hiding her trump card, hiding something that might change everything. Something that might explain everything. Or _someone._

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Go where ?” Winn asked, breathless as he picked up the pace so he wouldn’t fall behind.

Cat was power walking way faster than Winn thought possible and he briefly wondered where she found the time to exercise as she spent most of her time at Catco. “We’re going to go meet with Agent Mulder,” she answered calmly, no hint of exertion in her voice. “We set up a meeting when he asked for my help because he didn’t want me to give him the info by texts. I understand why now.”

Her hair was floating as she walked to her car, Winn catching up to her with one last step just as she reached her car across the street from the man’s apartment. Her driver got out and opened the door for her, waiting for the woman to get in and staying still as Winn just stood outside, unsure if he was supposed to follow her or not.

“H— Hi,” he greeted Cat’s driver awkwardly, waiting for a hint from the blonde and was rewarded as she finally looked up from her phone she’s been holding since she left his place.

“Just get in, Witt,” she sighed, gaze going back to the device in her hands.

While Winn quickly got in and hit his elbow against the door in the process, the driver swiftly closed it behind him and was behind the wheel in seconds. Once settled, he looked behind through the rear-view mirror with his hands on the wheel. “Where to, Miss Grant ?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Hospital,” she immediately answered with an almost bored voice, eyes still staring at her screen while her fingers incessantly moved, typing and swiping.

Winn’s head whipped toward the blonde, eyes wide and breath short. “Why— Why the hospital ? Are you okay ? Oh my god, Miss Grant, are you injured ? You—”

With just a glance from her, he closed his mouth shut immediately but kept staring worriedly at her. Eventually, she sighed and locked her phone before putting it away in her bag.

“ _You’re_ injured,” she slowly said, rolling her eyes. “And you’re in dire need of an MRI if you haven’t figured it out yet.” The tone was dismissive but her concern genuine.

“Oh,” the man said as he frowned, reaching with his hand to touch his wound and hissing at the contact. “We don’t have time, though, we have to find Hank !” he argued with determination, half turned to face Cat.

“It can wait a few hours,” the media mogul maintained. “Your head’s not something to be messed with.” When she saw something resembling a knowing yet gentle smile on his face, she quickly backpedalled. “After all, you must be the only one with your skills willing to be paid this little at a company like mine.”

Shaking his head minutely to get rid of his smile and instantly regretting it as his brain hurt at the movement, Winn just pushed through. “I’ll go get checked up _after_ we find him, Miss Grant. Who knows in how much danger he’s in !”

“You—”

 _“Please,”_ he pleaded but with resolution, showing her how much he needed to make sure Alex’s boss was okay.

After watching him closely for a few seconds, she nodded. “Fine,” she sighed, finally relenting. “It is _your_ brain after all.”

And in silence they spent the remaining of the car ride after Cat gave her driver the address she was supposed to meet him earlier, and was beginning to be worried. Even after being a couple of hours late, the FBI Agent didn’t contact her once to know about her whereabouts. It was odd, and certainly not a good sign.  
As the time passed, she started being more and more grateful for her IT Hobbit, convincing her to hurry instead of taking their time. She was beginning to think the man was in grave danger if the whole situation was any indication, and internally kicked herself for being too focused on her employee to see what was right in front of her.

“Um…” Winn shifted uncomfortably next to Cat, the latter being completely relaxed in her own seat. “Is that really where you were supposed to meet ?” he almost whispered when the car drove through a tunnel, burying them in the dark as it stretched out forever.

Finally, after a dark and hidden turn, the car stopped before an automatic barrier which slowly lifted when the driver clicked on something. “Relax, Schoot,” Cat drawled with a smirk and a glance. “I built a little something here, away from prying eyes.”

Winn just frantically looked around, hands gripping tightly at his seat with anxiety; and really, who could blame him after everything. “It’s _Schott,”_ he mumbled under his breath which earned him a glare but nothing more as they apparently reached they destination.

The car came to a stop and Winn barely breathed until Cat’s door opened and he gasped in surprise, the opening only revealing the blonde’s driver dutifully taking care of her until she was out of his car.  
He quickly followed her out, somehow more afraid of being alone in the car than being out in this large but very dark room. His hands turned into fists as he felt sweat dripping down his back and forehead, the stress coming back full force.

“Breathe,” Cat suddenly commanded, eyes on him. “No one knows about this place except him,” the blonde reassured him before getting back to the stoic media mogul. “This way.”

And like she knew the place inside and out, she guided him around a few turns that he couldn’t see if not for his close proximity to the blonde. Her heels echoed loudly in the otherwise quiet place but it didn’t seem to worry her, which only relaxed Winn slightly.

As they kept walking, they heard something from the far end of the room only subtly lit by low lights on the sides. Winn’s steps faltered and he kept glancing behind them to make sure they were alone, but Cat kept walking with determined steps. She had a hand in her bag, probably already grabbing her paper spray or more likely a taser, but it was the only sign she was worried.  
As they got closer, the noise got clearer and it sounded more and more like something breathing; with difficulty, but still breathing.

“Who’s there ?!” Cat suddenly shouted, hand out of her bag and taser, as expected of her, firmly in hand. She pushed the button a little and the device loudly buzzed and the electricity it produced slightly lit what was before them.

Winn jumped at the sudden voice but quickly grabbed Cat’s arm to stop her from walking toward the dark figure apparently sitting down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

The unknown’s breathing was ragged and theirs were loud and anxious. The silence kept on for a few seconds until the person broke it. Their breathing stopped before they spoke.

“... Miss Grant ?” The voice was croaky, like their breathing, but Cat’s brain registered it easily.

She slowly approached against Winn’s protests with squinty eyes, trying to see through the darkness. Eventually, she got close enough and gasped at the sight.

“Agent Mulder ?” she whispered while runni— okay, not _running,_ but at least power walking, toward him.

He was bleeding from his lips, had bruises all over his face and a black eye, but the most pressing issue was the way his hand gripped at his chest. He lowly grunted at each intake of air but Cat and Winn could hear it all the same in the dead silence.

Without asking anything, Cat knelt before him — crouching was out of the question in her dress — and gently grabbed his chin so she could see his left side better. She was almost sure he was beaten by fists but she couldn’t be sure. If it was the case, it was scary. Someone with enough strength to make this kind of damage to a grown and bulky FBI agent was scary and visibly dangerous.

He tried to push her hand away but she just kept on examining him. “You should get out of here,” he rasped, hand squeezing tighter his chest as he talked. “It is not safe.”

Winn shyly got closer too, steps slow but willing to take a risk. He frowned at the sight and hissed when he saw all the blood on the floor that Cat seemed to have missed in her haste to reach the man.

“Are you Hank ?” he finally asked, voice trembling from stress and fear. “Hank Henshaw ?”

The man’s eye twitched as he warily watched him but he eventually nodded. “I assume you are Kara’s friend ?” he in turned asked, almost gasping at the pain. At Winn’s nod a faint smile appeared. “I am glad you are okay. And I am sure Kara is too.”

Winn’s eyes found the floor, too ashamed to look at the man in the eyes, and rolled in his lips. Cat, usually loud and affirmed, was quiet during the interaction until she spoke again, coming to the man’s rescue.

“She will be once we find her and her sister.”

J’onn tensed and grunted before looking at the blonde. “What happened ?” he gasped, eyes full of fear and terror.

Cat shrugged as she looked at him up and down. “Same as you I suppose.”

J’onn clenched his jaw and fists in fury and the movement made a _clinking_ noise and both pair of eyes dropped to see the FBI agent’s other hand in a handcuff. Cat sighed and rubbed at her forehead while Winn loudly gulped.

“Who did this ?” he asked, ready to find the person who most likely also took the Danvers and Vasquez.

He was ready to end this, end the terror and constant fear. End the Danvers’ lives of nightmare and always looking behind them as a precaution. It only had been a few days since everything started but it felt like _months._ _  
_ He wasn’t made for this, wasn’t made to save people and help in dangerous situation. He was made to sit with his computer and write algorithm that could find out who spent how much time on a website.

But he also wasn’t made to sit on his ass while his best friend was kidnapped and who knew what else.

“Who did this ?” he asked again, voice grave and angry, fists shaking at his sides and jaw hurting with how hard he clenched it.

J’onn shot him a surprised look before nodding knowingly. He understood, of course, the need to find who hurt his close ones. And he wasn’t in any shape to rescue them alone. So he cooperated.

“I am afraid this is my fault,” he began. “I should have seen it.” He closed his eyes and shook his head to scatter all dark and unnecessary thoughts. “An agent I personally trained and mentored before Kara’s sister came along. I believe you already know her,” he said, looking straight at Winn whose heart seemed to have stopped beating as he waited for the bomb to drop.

“No,” he mumbled, frowning at the floor and head shaking too fast. “No, I…” He passed his hand through his hair, like it would help. Like it’d make what J’onn was going to say untrue.

After an infinite silence only broken by Winn’s incessant mumbling, J’onn took a deep breath and looked at Cat who was silently watching both of them with a grave look, as if she also knew what was coming.

“It was Vasquez.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Show of hands, who saw it coming ? I do hope it was subtil enough, I was trying to hint but without being too obvious which was pretty hard.
> 
> Anyway. Only one chapter to go and it's the end of this really long journey. Get ready.


End file.
